What is the future of thermal cameras?

[teeveebee404]

Hi all,

I am using thermal drones to survey wildlife, but one issue we currently have is the low thermal resolution. Does any of you know what the future (might) hold(s) for thermal cameras?
The current standard seems to be 640x512 @ 30Hz. If the resolution would double this means we can fly higher and cover more area per second. This would make the method a lot more interesting. Any thoughts? Will we get a 1080x1024 camera available commercially soon or will this be blocked maybe by the military?
Thanks!

 

[Kilrah]

1280x1024 thermal cameras exist but are big, heavy and more importantly cost tens of thousands of $. No doubt it will go down, but how many years it will take is the question.