Thermal Imaging
Example of FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) - heat sensing camera mounted on a Phantom 4 Pro 1.3 Kg drone
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This is an example of the different kinds of information available from thermal imaging. The train car roofs are all very HOT (white) from being parked in the sun. The tanks in the background are cooler generally and the temperature of the liquids inside tells how full they are. (From cold to warm)
They are surrounded by square dikes for spillage. Some ponds have water in them, A cold (black) square signature. |
A FLIR camera sees only HEAT so you will notice when the truck lights come on FLIR does not see visible lights unless they are hot, but you can see where other vehicles parked nearby that were shading the pavement from the suns heat.This was just after sunset so as a Thermal Image can provide context "timing" information as well. Notice the truck is quite warm BEFORE he starts it and the pavement under the whole truck is still warm, not just under the engine. This tells you that the truck had not been parked there for long.
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For information on the equipment (Click Here)
Phantom4 Pro with BOSON 320 IR & Ground Station
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Mavic Pro with BOSON 320 Infrared Camera
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This video shows a "string" of panels in a large solar farm that is overheated and has some electrical fault likely. Lower left array.
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Here we see solar panels with heat issues. The white square shows a failing CELL and one with 2 vertical rows of cells that are overheating and compromising the array's entire production.
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This example shows a large industrial refinery with many heat sources. You can see hot stack exhaust that are not burning, just hot exhaust gases that are largely invisible to the naked eye.
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Watch closely and you can see small animals moving around in the woods. FLIR will not easily see through the trees with leaves. This is early spring so you see rabbits and turkeys easily.
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This is one of the first test flights with an "unstabilized" FLIR camera fixed to the landing gear. It wobbles a bit whenever the drone moves. Still, it's reasonably stable when hovering or moving smoothly. This recently built house is very well insulated but notice under the knee wall at the bottom right of the key frame. The ground there is light (warm) and this shows where their in-floor heating pipes exit the building underground to go to a workshop that is off screen. There is some excess heat leaking there. This can also be partly due to the early morning sun just beginning to heat the soil on that north east wall of the house. (lower right house wall of this image at the foundation)