Hybrid Optical-Thermal Capabilities Impress

The emergent Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector is among the fastest-growing, most societally impactful facets of the global aerospace industry.

Keenly aware of such, Teledyne FLIR—a DBA of the California-based industrial and technical conglomerate that’s brought the world products as diverse as aircraft batteries and the WaterPik dental hygiene system—has launched SIRAS, an affordable, easy-to-fly drone optimized for industrial and utilities inspection, firefighting, law enforcement, and search and rescue missions.

Featuring front collision avoidance, hot swappable batteries, a 31-minute flight time, and no restrictive geofencing, SIRAS is easily and effectively operated by competent UAV pilots in even the most complex and inhospitable flight-environments.

FLIR Systems’ thermal cameras are regular fixtures on a great many popular UAVs, including models from DJI, RMUS, and EXO. Teledyne acquired FLIR Systems in 2021 for $8-billion and wasted no time in capitalizing on its new subsidiary’s inroads into the UAV industry.

What distinguishes Teledyne FLIR’s SIRAS UAV—aside from its eminently reasonable $9,700 price-tag—is its dual optical-sensor-system, which comprises both a standard 16-megapixel visual camera and a best-in-class, 640 x 512 pixel thermal camera. What’s more, SIRAS is the only enterprise drone—enterprise drones differ from consumer drones in the general sense that the former are tools and the latter are toys—to currently incorporate patented Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging (MSX) technology. MSX adds visible spectrum definition to infrared (IR) images by detecting the edges of non-heat-emitting objects and including that detail in the thermal image. Under MSX, text and similarly cold features become clearly visible within IR images.  

Dubbed Vue TV128, SIRAS’s dual radiometric thermal and visual camera is mounted to the drone’s airframe via a quick-connect gimbal. The system affords easy in-field connections and maintenance. Another interesting, data-security-conscious feature of the SIRAS drone is its autonomy. SIRAS is geofence-free—which is to say the entirety of the machine’s navigational data is stored on an onboard SD-card, thereby eliminating the need for cloud connectivity and all the hassles, memberships, and fees inherent such.  

Teledyne FLIR vice president Mike Walters summarizes: “Designed to provide pilots with flexibility to get the job done, SIRAS delivers a geofence-free flight experience with thermal and visible imaging capabilities at $9,695. SIRAS is the only enterprise drone to currently incorporate the patented MSX technology, which overlays the edge detail from the visible camera on the thermal image to provide critical information in real time.” 

SIRAS shipments within the U.S. are to commence in the fourth quarter of 2022.

FMI: www.flir.com