Did you know that drones have been involved in over 500 rescue incidents worldwide and saved the lives of over 800 people? This figure illustrates how these tools are transforming a growing number of industries.

Professional drone inspection services are increasingly used in a diverse range of applications and provide cost-effective, safe ways to inspect hard-to-reach infrastructure.

Thermal cameras allow drones to record the infrared spectrum of light. This greatly enhances their capabilities and applications, providing information that would otherwise be invisible to the human eye.

Here are seven of the most common applications of drones with thermal cameras.

1. Public Safety: Search and Rescue

Drones have contributed to saving a number of lives in the past few years in Queensland. They have proven to be especially useful in locating lost hikers in remote locations, which are common in Cairns and the surrounding areas. However, there are many ways that drones can assist a search and rescue exercise.

In one incident, a search and rescue team walked within a few metres past the lost person. They were unable to identify him due to the tall grass and low light conditions. It was only with a drone thermal camera that the man was identified and rescued.

Our services provide search and rescue teams with the ability to search large areas in the shortest possible time. The images the drone captures are transmitted live to our pilots. This keeps the emergency personnel safe and reduces the risk involved with these types of operations.

Firefighting is another public safety application for drones. Together with a thermal camera, we can identify hot spots in a fire. This allows for a more coordinated firefighting response.

This applies to bush fires as well as urban fires. Fires in large buildings make it particularly challenging for firefighters to identify the hot spots. However, with the aid of thermal imagery, drones allow us to identify where to focus firefighting efforts.

2. Solar Panel Inspections

Every solar farm needs to inspect the photovoltaic modules on their solar panels. If one module fails it can affect the whole panel and reduce the electrical output. Drones are a simple way to inspect these modules for damage.

Manually inspecting a large solar farm is a huge task that could take weeks to complete. By using our drone services, this same inspection can happen in a few hours. The high-resolution thermal and visual images that we capture allow for easy identification of any problems.

Drone inspections of solar farms are 95% more efficient than manual inspections carried out on foot. This means that thermal drones can inspect each megawatt of a solar farm in 10 minutes. Not only does this save money, but it also reduces the amount of time that workers are exposed to the elements.

Thermal camera footage is combined with software tools to provide the solar farm with a geo-referenced map. This includes the GPS coordinates and temperature of each problem module. We can also identify if any equipment, such as inverters or junction boxes, are operating outside their normal temperature range.

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3. Electrical Infrastructure Inspections

Drones with thermal cameras are used to monitor and inspect transmission lines and substations. This type of infrastructure is often difficult to access. In steep terrain or thick rainforest, it can be nearly impossible to inspect transmission lines without a drone.

In the past, this kind of inspection could only be done with helicopters. The costs associated with helicopters are much higher than a professional drone service. Drones are also more efficient and far safer for the operators.

Typically, our pilots can inspect a substation in minutes and switch between the thermal and visible spectrum. Once the inspection is complete the footage can then be closely analysed to identify problem areas or damage.

This allows power utility companies to easily inspect high-voltage components. Even those in the most inaccessible and dangerous locations. Once the thermal camera identifies a hot spot, the utility company can address the issue immediately.

Identifying these problems before they cause a failure allows for proactive maintenance. Without a thermal drone, it is difficult to perform preventative maintenance on electrical infrastructure. Using our thermal drone services, we help to reduce the risks of serious failures and the resulting blackouts.

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‍4. Building and Roof Inspections

As buildings and roofs deteriorate with age it becomes necessary to inspect them for damage and leaks. This is not an easy task for an inspector to carry out. It is often difficult to identify where the problem areas are and reaching those places requires a team of people and equipment.

A straightforward solution is to use a thermal drone service for roof inspections. We can help you identify the heat difference between dry sections of the roof and places that have water penetration. This is particularly useful for large flat roofs where visual inspections are insufficient.

By scanning commercial building roofs shortly after sunset, it's possible to identify leaks in the roof material in a few minutes. Wet areas of the roof cool down slower than dry parts as the moisture retains the heat for longer. This makes it easy to identify problem areas and the extent of the damage.

We can also identify places in the roof where hot or cool air is escaping, helping you to quickly identify any problems with the insulation of the building.

In hot and humid climates, like Cairns, identifying problems with insulation is vital. This can improve the energy efficiency of your building. By addressing these thermal bridges, you can make considerable savings on air conditioning costs.

5. Agricultural Crop Monitoring and Livestock Counting

The agricultural industry in remote and rural Australia is well aware as to how useful drones are to their operations. Drones can provide farmers with a wealth of information to monitor their crops. This can help them improve the health of their crops and increase yields.

With the help of drones, it's possible to measure the vegetative index of their crops. By combining these images with agricultural software, we can create highly informative maps, that can be used to monitor crop health and manage fertiliser use.

We can also provide farmers with 3D maps to analyse water drainage. This helps farmers understand how variations in elevation are affecting their crops. By using this information it's possible to improve the efficiency of irrigation systems.

Drones are also highly efficient tools to monitor livestock health and accurately assess numbers. Thermal cameras allow farmers to see through vegetation, making it easier to count livestock, no matter where they are.

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6. Road and Bridge Inspections

Traditional bridge inspections are time-consuming. They also involve a considerable amount of risk for the people involved. Gaining access to bridges is often dangerous and may require the road to be closed for some time.

By using drones to inspect bridges we eliminate all of these hazards. Our drone pilots provide high-quality footage in a fraction of the time it would take to physically inspect a bridge.

Drones with thermal cameras can take thousands of images of a bridge in just a few hours. We then stitch these images together to create an accurate 3D map of the bridge. This map allows engineers to identify any delamination that may be affecting the concrete structure.

Our high-resolution cameras can also identify the problems associated with steel bridges. Issues like rust and missing bolts are easy to pick out. No matter how inaccessible abridge is, by using drones these difficult inspections become effortless.

7. Oil and Gas Infrastructure Inspections

Many oil and gas companies are already using drones to inspect and monitor their infrastructure. Inspecting pipelines for leakages is one area where drones are regularly used. Pipelines need frequent inspections to ensure that defects or leaks are quickly identified.

Our services enable these companies to monitor thousands of kilometres of pipelines, which is a much more cost-effective solution to conducting an aircraft or helicopter inspection. By using thermal cameras it's simple to identify changes in temperature that indicate a possible leak.

Oil and gas infrastructure is often difficult to inspect and hard to access. It can also pose a serious threat to the health and safety of the inspection workers. Our solutions allow inspection workers to keep a safe distance from hazardous areas and avoid working at height.

Are You Looking for Drone Inspection Services with Thermal Cameras?

Drones with thermal cameras are transforming the way we live and work. They offer many industries a safe, cost-effective, and efficient way to inspect their assets.

If you're looking for Cairns drone services then Heightened Vision has got you covered. We have the experience and expertise to assist you with your drone contact us online requirements.

You can contact us online or call us at 0407 845 985 to discuss how we can help you.