Thermal Camera add on ??

[ProspectDroner]

Hi,
I am new to this forum, but not to drone flying. I mainly use drones to assist in prospecting for gold. I have been using the Mavic Air 2 since it came out, and love it. I was wondering if anyone has heard about a replacement thermal camera for this drone? I tried doing a search with no luck on the Mavic Air 2. I love the new Flir Hadron, but cannot find any info if that will be adaptable to the Mavic Air 2.
Thanks for any info anyone has...
Dave.

 

[Keule]

I was wondering if anyone has heard about a replacement thermal camera for this drone?

There are no thermal replacement cameras for the MA2

I love the new FLIR Hadron, but cannot find any info if that will be adaptable to the Mavic Air 2.

If you are a DIY man, you can add the FLIR Hadron to any drone. But highly unlikely with DJI equipment.

What you can do on the other hand, put a FLIR VUE piggyback on your drone. Here a company which developed such a solution: DRONExpert Netherlands Thermal Solutions • DRONExpert.nl

Look also at the Skydio X2, it has the FLIR Hadron installed. (Availability end of this year 2020 - That is really worth looking into)

 

[iaincaradoc]

Look also at the Skydio X2, it has the FLIR Hadron installed. (Availability end of this year 2020 - That is really worth looking into)

I contacted Skydio. They're *really* not interested in talking to anyone who isn't an "enterprise" customer about the X2. I'm looking at Autel and DJI solutions instead after that "conversation."

I quote:

"That is correct. Skydio 2 is not thermal-capable. At the moment, Skydio X2 is reserved for folks looking to use their units for larger-scale solutions (industrial/defense/commercial/public safety uses cases). We hope to be able to serve all use cases soon."

 

[Keule]

I'm looking at Autel and DJI solutions instead after that "conversation."

Not good to hear - Anyhow, if you want to have a DJI FLIR capable aircraft (can't speak about Autel), I recommend to go with the Matrice series aircraft and the XT2 cameras. (Or the newer M300/H20 cameras)
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual is not usable for serious industrial applications.
(I operate both, an M2ED and an M210 & XT2/640R)

 

[iaincaradoc]

The Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual is not usable in serious industrial applications.

I had already come to that conclusion, but thanks for confirming it!

 

[ProspectDroner]

Thanks for everyones answers, Bummer, will probably just stick to the Seek thermal camera on a lightweight cell phone, and point down on drone just recording. Wonder what options for thermal the new Mavic 3 will hold?

 

[Starz]

Wallet needs to be rather large when the words thermal and dji are combined.

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

Not good to hear - Anyhow, if you want to have a DJI FLIR capable aircraft (can't speak about Autel), I recommend to go with the Matrice series aircraft and the XT2 cameras. (Or the newer M300/H20 cameras)
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual is not usable for serious industrial applications.
(I operate both, an M2ED and an M210 & XT2/640R)

The Autel Evo II Duo camera itself is I think I heard $8995 if you already have the AC. Otherwise it's closer to $10,000 for the entire package. If I remember correctly, it is a higher resolution FLIR camera than what's available on the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual. The plus side of it is that the detachable camera means you can swap out the 6k camera for the dual and have the entire range of sensors and mount them as needed. The downside is still IMHO, the yaw problem (very fast and twitchy) and I believe some users are still reporting the horizon tilt issue that plagued the Evo I. I have not heard anyone mention those two issues on the dual setup yet however. The Autel uses a FLIR Boson sensor that is 640X512 I believe. It is a cheaper alternative to a Matrice I would imagine but I'm not aware of the price tag for that system. Any of the FLIR sensors having decent resolution are pricey.

 

[ProspectDroner]

The DJI Matrice 300 RTK with a Zenmuse H20, would be perfect... Need to win the lotto... ?

 

[Keule]

The DJI Matrice 300 RTK with a Zenmuse H20, would be perfect... Need to win the lotto... ?

Not necessarily, if you are doing it right, after a few jobs, you reached your ROI...

 

[I am smiling!]

The DJI Matrice 300 RTK with a Zenmuse H20, would be perfect... Need to win the lotto... ?

...or hit the motherload.

 

[iaincaradoc]

The DJI Matrice 300 RTK with a Zenmuse H20, would be perfect... Need to win the lotto... ?

As long as we're wishing, I'd go for the H20T over the H20.

 

[casdee]

Found the Parrot ANAFI 4K Thermal Drone which could help you but it was in a wildlife thermal camera list so I'm not sure how it works for your use case, resolution might be too low and I don't know the exact requirements for what the thermal sensor should show when gold might be present in an area, I am quite curious to find out actually.