DJI Matrice 5T pairs 1K thermal imaging with enhanced night vision

DJI has introduced the Matrice 5T, an enterprise drone designed for search and rescue, emergency response and demanding inspection work. The aircraft combines thermal imaging, enhanced night vision, obstacle detection and artificial intelligence.

Its thermal camera has a native resolution of 1280 × 1024, four times the pixel count of conventional 640 × 512 sensors. An infrared mode raises output resolution to 2560 × 2048. DJI says the wide-angle camera can capture full-color images at 0.01 lux. The drone also has a 50 MP medium telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, plus another telephoto camera with 11x optical zoom and 176x hybrid zoom. DJI says the latter can examine license plates from up to 400 meters.

For obstacle detection, the Matrice 5T combines LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar and omnidirectional visual sensors. DJI says its LiDAR can detect thin obstacles such as electrical cables from up to 32 meters at night. The O4 Enterprise communications system supports transmission distances of up to 40km.

Onboard AI can identify more than 20 object categories using thermal and conventional camera feeds. DJI FlightHub 2 supports searches using written descriptions or reference images and automated patrol routes. DJI says its remote controller can process 200 photographs within eight minutes. The drone has an IP55 rating and operates from -20°C to 50°C, with actual endurance dependent on conditions. DJI says the Matrice 5T is available through authorized DJI Enterprise dealers; pricing and availability vary by distributor.