DJI has unveiled the Matrice 4 family of drones aimed at government and industrial customers such as inspection services, law enforcement, search and rescue teams and agricultural surveillance organizations. They are compact, reliable and easy-to-use platforms designed to make it easy to capture quality images, day or night.
Image source: DJI
«With the Matrice 4 series drones, DJI is ushering in a new era of intelligent air operations. By equipping our industry-leading enterprise drones with artificial intelligence, search and rescue teams can save lives faster,” the company said in a press release. “Furthermore, the intelligence capabilities of the Matrice 4 series are taken to the next level, allowing enterprise drones to better cope with increasing operational demands in a variety of challenging scenarios.”
At the moment, Matrice 4 drones are presented in two models: Matrice 4T (with thermal imager) and Matrice 4E (geodetic). In both cases, the optical system of the drones includes two main cameras with an f/2.8 aperture and 48-megapixel sensors. One of the modules has optics with an equivalent focal length of 70 mm, and the other – 168 mm. This set allows the operator to distinguish parts at a distance of up to 250 m. In addition, each drone is equipped with a laser rangefinder that measures distances up to 1800 m.
The Matrice 4T drone is designed to support search and rescue and special operations, as it is equipped with an infrared thermal imaging camera that captures images with a resolution of up to 1280 × 1024 pixels. The drone comes with an infrared spotlight that illuminates the scene at a distance of up to 100 m. The drone is also equipped with a wide-angle 24mm lens with a 48-megapixel sensor and an IR filter.
The DJI Matrice 4E drone is designed for surveying, mapping, construction and inspection applications where high resolution is key. Its camera with a 20-megapixel sensor and a 24-mm wide-angle lens can shoot at flight speeds of up to 21 m/s. Intelligent 3D shooting mode allows you to create accurate models and reproduce routes on maps with marking control points. The received data becomes available in the virtual space.
Advanced drone software provides automatic search with object recognition. If additional functionality is required, developer tools are included.
To operate in low-light conditions, the drones use six fisheye lenses to help them navigate and avoid obstacles even in low light. Removal of fog and haze is carried out programmatically using Adobe Lightroom software.
In addition to the drones, DJI introduced new accessories including the DJI AL1 Floodlight for illuminating objects from a distance and the DJI AS1 Speaker, which transmits sound up to 300 m. The new D-RTK 3 multi-function station improves positioning accuracy and image transmission at high altitudes in areas no cell phone service. D-RTK 3 can also mark ground control points for the drone.