Making a phantom 4 camera able to do thermal imaging

[Firedrone]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone one here knows if/how you can turn a phantom 4 standard camera into a thermal imaging camera?
I know some people can make DSLRs into thermal imaging cameras by changing the infrared sensor. So can that be done with a Phantom 4?

 

[BigAl07]

I've not seen the kit for the P4 but in time I'm sure someone will offer it.

 

[mdaemon]

I've not seen the kit for the P4 but in time I'm sure someone will offer it.

in netherlands the people sell already a kit for thermal imaging on a p4p.
costs about 6500€.
Martin

 

[Firedrone]

Thanks for that, if anyone has a link/company name, that would be appreciated.

 

[mdaemon]

dronexpert.nl
dslrpros.com

riseabove.com.au in Australia.

several bundles.
Martin

 

[TreeLineView]

Anyone seen this Mod kit for Phantom 4 Pro in action? I like the idea, but it looks a little heavy. Wondering how it would impact flight and control. The video during take off seemed like the weight was uneven. Wondering how landing would be.

 

[Firedrone]

Rather then getting a extra camera, can you change a sensor/filters make it inferred?

How does an inferred camera actually work?

 

[BigAl07]

Rather then getting a extra camera, can you change a sensor/filters make it inferred?

How does an inferred camera actually work?

I would think it would take more than just a sensor swap but that's purely a guess. Maybe @Outta Control can chime in and shed some light on the topic.

 

[Outta Control]

Rather then getting a extra camera, can you change a sensor/filters make it inferred?

How does an inferred camera actually work?

Sorry for the delayed response. I just got back from the world's largest agriculture trade show. I saw some " purty kewl" drones.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Infrared operates between 700 nanometer to 1 mm wavelength.

You can not convert an RGB into a "true" thermal IR camera because as you can see the wavelength is drastically different.

I believe you have confused it with NIR (Near Infrared). which is a very narrow band between "visible light" and Infrared with the use of special filters applied to the lens. You can modify an RGB camera such as a DJI X3 to accept a red or green filter for NIR but one caution is that once you modify that camera you are stuck with it. You can not revert back to a RGB camera.

Update: apparently there is a company that claims and sells replacement lens to be "thermal-like" quality.

 

[Mike Nevins]

I just back from the 8th annual soil health conference for agriculture. One of the things that came out of the conference is soil temperature. Apparently (and it makes since) is that plants do better if the soil temperature is between 75 and 85 degrees. Anything over 101 plants start to stress. If I remember, at 107 the microbes begin to die. The point is how can we leverage this into the precision ag tool kit as a report for the growers?

I'm thinking calibration, heat signatures, ideas? Who, what, and how? Thoughts?

 

[Geoff G UK]

Update: apparently there is a company that claims and sells replacement lens to be "thermal-like" quality.

So is the IR cut filter on the lens or the sensor in the P4?
Just curious about full spectrum conversion.

 

[Anokadrone]

I believe I read something similar last year. That most RGB cameras have a filter that stops the IR band from reaching the sensor. And there is/was a company that was removing them and adding some others for a fee.

 

[Newton Ware]

Guys,
I’ve been in the Golf agronomic business for 15 years. The soil temps are the key for basically everything.

Crabgrass starts to germinate at 55 degrees F, peaks germination at 60. Goosegrass at 65, peaking at 70. Thee are two examples. But all plant processes are dependent on soil temp and photo period. Daylight hours.

On bentgrass putting greens, which take a beating in the Georgia summers, Va Tech offered research showing that bentgrass can regrow roots up to 90 degrees. 85 or below is better. Between 90 and 95 it is stagnant. And at 95 and above it is loosing root mass.

But all plants are different. So being able to accurately measure soil temps on a large scale. would be a great benefit. But some math would be needed as most Ag references 2” soil depth temperatures.

But y’all are headed in the right direction. Good info.

 

[Geoff G UK]

It's pretty clear (to me) that you cannot use a standard CMOS imaging device to get a usable image of heat radiation, as Outta Control points out.
I've seen articles about prototype modified CMOS sensors using "diffractive light trapping pixels" giving good NIR sensitivity enhancement.
You're stuck with a sensor that peaks in the NIR, unless you can change the wavelength of the thermal energy to bring it into the NIR of course. Some waveguides do this.