Solving Thermal Limitations for Emergency and First-Response UAVs
Thermal imaging technology for drones is vital for emergency services like firefighting and search and rescue operations. Despite its effectiveness, challenges such as regulatory issues, flight time, and payload power consumption remain. The integration of advanced thermal modules like FLIR's Hadron could broaden the use of high-resolution thermal technology in various applications.
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Key takeaways
Thermal imaging technology from drones is critical in difficult terrains for emergency services.
Current challenges include regulatory compliance, flight time limitations, and payload efficiency.
Advanced thermal modules can expand the application of high-resolution thermal technology.
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Daniel Litwin of The Voice of B2B hosted Randall Warnas, Global sUAS Segment Leader with FLIR, to discuss drone thermal payload technology. The pair looked at the use of thermal imaging technology today, its limitations, and the future of the technology across a variety of applications.
Warnas explained that thermal imaging technology has become a vital tool for firefighting, search and rescue, and law enforcement. The ability to gather thermal information from an unmanned aerial perspective is critical when terrain obstacles prevent vehicles and personnel from entering an area. The thermal technology itself enables the expedited gathering of information, day or night, that could prove instrumental in the saving of lives.
Thermal drone technology has an ever growing list of success stories, but there are limitations and areas of improvement. “I think the limitations behind drones right now is going to be regulatory, but it’s also flight time,” Warnas said. He continued by stating the challenge was to “shrink down size, weight, and power consumption of payloads.”
Another limitation is the thermal imaging resolution. Many handheld temperature reading devices have an accuracy within 2 degrees. Measuring temperature from a distance in an aerial setting presents a sizable challenge. Even so, drone thermal readings can be accurate to +/- 5 degrees, which is still suitable for the majority of applications.
Litwin and Warnas also discussed FLIR’s Hadron module, a thermal imaging technology meant for OEM integration. The idea is to enable a broader number of aerial platforms to use high resolution thermal technology to greatly expand the applications for this powerful innovation.
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About the author
Daniel Litwin is a journalist of multiple disciplines focused on finding and telling engaging stories for B2B communities. He has interviewed executives from Fortune 500 companies including Honeywell, Microsoft, John Deere, and Chipotle, and leads editorial direction at MarketScale. Litwin hosts weekly shows and podcasts while helping develop new content approaches across the MarketScale platform. He holds a B.J. in Radio/Television Reporting/Anchoring and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
