We analyze one of the latest developments in the world of professional drones, the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual, a drone that has a dual camera with the possibility of viewing in the visible or thermographic spectrum.
Drone by Drone has a very functional tool, heir to the portability that characterizes the range of drones of the Mavic family and the power of the Mavic 2. It is a drone of the enterprise range of the Chinese manufacturer, designed to extend the possibilities of this small drone that has been endowed with a powerful vision system. It also has accessories to provide greater capabilities, and can carry a beacon or LED lights or a speaker, all of them controlled from the application remotely.
Let's focus on the cameras, perhaps the most novel in a drone of these characteristics. While it is true that the quality of the optics do not exceed the resolutions of other cameras more specific DJI own manufacturer, its great functionality is portability. In its RGB mode, the 12MP camera with a 1 / 2.3 "CMOS sensor offers a resolution of 4056 × 3040 photography, while in its thermographic mode the sensor size is 160 × 120 offering a size of 640 × 480
Although the thermographic camera reports spot temperature information on the control application's own screen (in this case DJI Pilot), the thermographic images are not captured with radiometric data, so they could not be processed with specialized software. This particular feature greatly limits the use of this drone for industrial inspection tasks, where post-processing of data is fundamental, relegating it to visual verification tasks. To be able to count on radiometric data it is necessary to reach the cameras with the highest resolution (and price) of DJI, the XT and XT2.
Where the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual can be a good tool is in mountain search and rescue tasks, where its portability can be a determining factor. With very good flight characteristics, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual will defend itself even in the most demanding wind conditions. The combination of both cameras, the RGB and the thermographic, make it the perfect tool without going to heavier and expensive solutions. It is true that the resolution of the thermal imager is scarce, so in daytime operations it does not represent a great advance, although in nocturnal operations, with the differences in temperature between the environment and the possible objective makes its effectiveness grow. Therefore, we can be talking about the perfect tool for emergency operations at night.
The APP for the management of the DJI Mavic 2 Dual is the DJI Pilot from DJI, intended only for your most professional drones. The display mode of the real-time MSX camera (to choose between this, Visual or Thermographic) allows to view both sensors in a mixed manner, providing the objects with the thermographic image with contours obtained through the RGB sensor. Each time a capture or photograph is taken, it is done in RGB and in Thermographic (without contours) or in MSX (Thermographic with contours). A useful fact to keep in mind.
Mavic 2 Pro or Zoom batteries can be used for the flight of the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual because they have the same technical characteristics. Perhaps, due to the different software or updates, they can give us notices in the flight APP, but they are usable.
We show you some pictures in daytime conditions, both in RGB and in thermography, where you can compare both sensors and their functionality and resolutions.
