Drone Giant DJI Teaming With FLIR On Aerial Thermal Imaging Camera

fastcompany.com

20 points·mashgin··2 comments

It seems like this could be huge for small/local fire departments and law enforcement. If your town can't afford its own helicopter with FLIR imaging, now you can get a dedicated system for ~$1500.

Imagine the benefits if there's a night time 911 call complaining of an ominous crowd gathering in a public place or a band of hooligans tagging homes in a crowded suburban area. Cops could scout the area ahead of time by just launching a drone from their trunk before putting themselves in harm's way. There may be some issues in trying to maintain radio/video contact during something like a high speed chase, of course.

It's interesting that DJI is specifically not targeting these markets with their advertising because of drawing attention from the government? Is the government concerned that the technology will somehow relay the imagery to Chinese spies? Or that it will report false data that would put people in danger?

Your cost estimate is a little too low. The Zenmuse gimbal is about $2,200 alone (without the FLIR camera) and it's designed for use on the Phantom or Matrice platforms, both of which cost more than $3k. Total cost is likely in excess of $7,000 including the FLIR camera.

Even so, that is still much cheaper than owning and operating a helicopter!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com