Thermal Zoom Drone Payload: Introducing Teledyne FLIR VUE TZ20-R

Teledyne FLIR announced the FLIR VUE® TZ20-R today, a hi-res, thermal zoom gimbal designed for DJI V2 Matrice 200 Series and Matrice 300 airframes. The radiometric gimbaled thermal drone payload offers pixel-by-pixel temperature measurement, with up to 20x digital zoom.

Radiometry allows users to measure the temperature of every pixel in the scene.  Thermal zoom capability means that users can search or inspect more area in less time, with fewer false positives and faster insights.  “Featuring two 640×512 resolution FLIR Boson^® thermal camera modules, with one providing a narrow-field-of-view (18 degrees) and the other a wide-field-of-view (95 degrees), the Vue TZ20-R provides even greater situational awareness, accuracy, and context by offering more pixels on target with the corresponding temperature data,” says the Teledyne FLIR press release.

The new TZ20-R is designed for public safety and industry, rugged enough to operate in bad weather (IP44 rated) and light enough to preserve flight time, weighing in at 1.4 pounds (640 grams.)  The dual camera system “offers unmatched thermal zoom performance at five times, 10 times, and 20 times digital zoom for a variety of public safety and industrial missions,” says the release. “The dual Boson camera modules also provide four times more radiometric pixels on target at every zoom level versus all competitors….”

Public Safety and Industrial Inspections

The TZ20-R could be a game changer for public safety agencies using the payload for serach and rescue, firefighting, or law enforcement.  The thermal zoom reduces false positives, providing more accurate data, while still allowing teams to maintain their distance and search in silence.

For industrial inspections, the thermal zoom capability means that inspectors can get unmatched clarity – while still maintaining a safe distance from the inspection site.

“Operators can use in-app features, such as isotherms to automatically detect temperatures of interest, ideal for industrial inspection and public safety where quickly spotting anomalies is mission critical,” says the release.

Plug and Play Setup 

The TZ20-R is easy to use and easy to connect via the Skyport V2.0 gimbal on the DJI Matrice 300 or V2 Matrice 200 series. Thermal video and still-image data can be recorded on dual microSD cards along with the ability to stream thermal video mid-flight. Post mission, operators can export the data to FLIR Thermal Studio and third-party data processing software for in-depth analysis and review.

The FLIR Vue TZ20-R is available for pre-order with delivery in October through authorized distributors. Learn more at https://www.flir.com/vue-tz20-R.