Want to learn Thermography?

Andrei · May 26, 2018

Hello everyone, nice to be part of this community as i am slowly moving from consumer to enterprise products and i am now operating an M200. I am trying to get the best practice and advices from people who already been through these steps in order to avoid making the same mistakes and fasten the learning curve.

So for the start im doing some PV inspections with the XT camera and i want to know what are the best settings for the drone, how low and fast should i fly it to fet the best results, how big the overlap to be, what would be the best flying app to use for the mission planning, and in the end... What application to use for the post processing of the data. I've been trying so far some demo versions from UGCS, Pix4D but either my inputs were not the best or i dont know well enough how to use them because the final result was far from what i was expecting but for sure not a big stitched clear image.

JakeB826 · Jun 17, 2018

Have you looked at the recent Drone Deploy upgrade that allows for thermal orthos? I have zero idea how well it works or if it would fit your needs but am aware that they have released something new. I know next to nothing about thermal as I am just now starting to learn myself but it may be worth looking at.

On the knowing zero about thermal note.....can anybody tell me if the XT2 will allow you to take stills while recording video or not?

iRed_Tim · Jun 18, 2018

JakeB826 said:
Have you looked at the recent Drone Deploy upgrade that allows for thermal orthos? I have zero idea how well it works or if it would fit your needs but am aware that they have released something new. I know next to nothing about thermal as I am just now starting to learn myself but it may be worth looking at.

On the knowing zero about thermal note.....can anybody tell me if the XT2 will allow you to take stills while recording video or not?

Yes it does - just like the FLIR Duo Pro R.

DroneDeploy's latest thermal orthomosaic, is non-radiometric, so forget getting any useful temperature data out of it - often required for solar park inspections/heat loss etc

Outta Control · Jun 18, 2018

iRed_Tim said:
Yes it does - just like the FLIR Duo Pro R.

DroneDeploy's latest thermal orthomosaic, is non-radiometric, so forget getting any useful temperature data out of it - often required for solar park inspections/heat loss etc

You beat me to it.

Per JM of RMUS, the Duo PRO and XT2 are similar except for the XT2 has the integration into the the DJI Go app (unless you have LB2 for the Duo PRO) and is weather resistant.

The Duo PRO's advantage is the flexibility.

Russ Still · Jun 18, 2018

I think UAVExperts.com has a hands-on thermography training program in Atlanta.

iRed_Tim · Jun 20, 2018

If you're UK based, check iRed Academy www.ired.ac.uk - we provide accredited thermography courses including Drone, Building and Electrical.

JakeB826 · Jun 28, 2018

iRed_Tim said:
Yes it does - just like the FLIR Duo Pro R.

DroneDeploy's latest thermal orthomosaic, is non-radiometric, so forget getting any useful temperature data out of it - often required for solar park inspections/heat loss etc

Thank you for the reply. I'm new to the thermal side and hadn't read up on what the earlier models do.

So, coming in on the new guy side...I get it on training and experience and am starting to work that way. Next step is to buy a camera and get cracking on the practical work. I am about to add an M200 so will have the ability to use an XT or XT2, with the prices I am seeing a lower resolution, slower refresh rate XT2 can be had for near the same or less than an first generation XT (depending on that camera's specs, of course). Am I going wrong thinking that a lower spec XT2 is the way to go or should I shoot for the highest resolution and refresh rate I can get regardless of generation? I keep reading some opinions that the lower resolution is all you need for basic to mid-range level deliverables and that the magic is in actual thermographer ability and report writing...what is the consensus here on that? My bind is that I can't justify 10-12k or more on something highest end in this range for something that I don't yet have the skills (or customer base) to fully capitalize on but don't want to waste 6-7k on something that won't meet the needs not too far down the road. Not that I want to waste or spend extra money that I don't have to, I'd like to stay in the xt/xt2 range and not have to deal with a hand-build or cobbled together system. Not looking down on anything but need simplicity and ease of integration.

I am experienced in other areas and have recently made some minor in-roads into the oil and gas arena so turning the first camera into a functional, working tool is a real possibility. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Airtakes · Jul 20, 2018

Is anyone thinking of the DJI XT2 camera?, Its a great camera, at $14000, both the IR and RGB are together in one unit, is weather proof, the IR part is similar to the XT but here is the big disadvantage the visual RGB camera is only 12mp, infrastructure inspections like cell towers, or power lines, bridges, roads, etc, are requireing 20MP resolution, analytics departments need to zoom in in when they process the data, so the XT2 camera would not be accepted for certain inspection jobs, if you go with separate cameras and instal an XT next to a x5s on a Matrice 200 or x5 or x5r individually on a Inspire 1 where for the RGB you have a choice of several 3rd party lenses, even a choice for a zoom, with the XT2 you are stuck with only 1 wide 8mm lens, the XT cameras can be used with the Inspire 1 and Matrice 200, 210 line of drones the XT2 only with Matrice
I guess the XT2 is more suited for law enforcment or Fire departments where they require a simpler quick setup in all weather