As per the latest industry rumors, Autel Robotics is about to launch a new drone with dual sensors that will compete head-on with DJI’s Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual.

Will the New Autel Drone Replicate the Success of its Predecessor, the Phenomenal Autel Evo?

I actually liked the Autel Evo, the way you would control the drone and the built-in controller screen.. The JPEG recipe was nice. The way that it flew was nice. The lack of geo-fencing was phenomenal. And frankly, the drone was really easy to work with. While I wasn't a big fan of the control interface because I like a very particular sense of stability and sensitivity in the sticks. However, it was a drone that I ended up keeping. And it was a drone that I actually kept with me as a backup.

The Autel Evo was my go to backup drone, because oftentimes I had so many issues with DJI’s geo-fencing.

So, my interest was greatly peaked when I heard rumors that Autel Robotics was coming out with a new drone with dual sensors – A drone that could possibly give the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual a run for its money. If rumors are true, and the new Autel drone has a large global shutter camera, it could also map very well, giving the Phantom 4 Pro a run for the money. Maybe this is the Honda Civic we were looking for.

Why the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual Falls Short…

The Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual is a small Mavic-sized drone that's portable, flexible, and offers the convenience of dual sensors, albeit a small 150 by 150 psi thermal sensor adjacent to a small EO linear rolling shutter sensor. Now while it's awesome to have some zoom in that capability on that bird, It often leaves many of us hanging as the drone really doesn't have a good enough EO sensor to do mapping or decent thermal applications. While you can still do most inspection applications, you just have to fly closer to objects. While the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual is a great tool and can still handle most applications, with such a small thermal sensor the drone isn’t viable for Powerline inspections as the drone has to fly so close to the poles, you’re often inside the arc distance.

Rumored Specs and Capabilities of the New Autel Drone

As per the latest industry rumors, this is what we know about the new Autel drone:

Large 20 MP Global Shutter

Large (640p) Thermal Sensor

Light and Portable

No Geo-fencing

Portable Frame

Why the New Autel Robotics Drone Could Prove To Be an Excellent Choice for Public Safety & Search and Rescue Applications

We've heard rumors and even seen pictures of the new Autel drone, which is supposed to offer a large 20 MP global shutter sensor and a large thermal sensor. This would save public safety departments a ton of money as they will no longer need multiple drones for different applications like accident reconstruction, search and rescue and equipment inspections.

Right now, the Mavic 2 enterprise dual is the go-to solution for Public Safety officers, as we discussed in this podcast, "How the FDNY is Successfully Using FireFighting Drones". Although while the drone offers dual sensors, the EO (digital camera sensor) is not enough to conduct accurate mapping or mapping at scale.

Well, fire departments might love this drone as well, because they could check all hotspots in the area within a single flight. And guess what? You can also map the building for incident and command control as well with the new rumored Autel drone.

This is one particular drone that I really think could have phenomenal capabilities and have a considerable impact on the market.

So I'm really excited and I'm sure a lot of public safety officers are excited for a 20 megapixel EO sensor that's a global shutter, and a thermal sensor large enough to actually get actionable data.

Will this thermal sensor be radiometric? The jury's out on that one.

But that could be phenomenal if it was a radiometric sensor, as this would allow us to calibrate the thermal sensor for the environment around it, thus giving us more accurate data and better data as a whole.

The last part that I really love and want to mention for public safety. They really love having integrated systems – systems that don't need other accessories. Well, what I love about Autel is the built-in screen that was one of my favorite features of the remote control. It was an easy to use built-in screen that you could operate with buttons or in other way as well.

I think this new drone by Autel Robotics could be a phenomenal vehicle for public safety, search and rescue and mapping as a whole. This drone will save lives. It's just a matter of time.

Signing Off…

With that said, I'm extremely excited about Autel Robotics new drone. I have no idea what it's going to be called. But to have a dual sensor drone that actually has a global shutter and a large thermal sensor that's pretty portable, capable with an easy interface is a HUGE deal.

Well, that just seems like a great drone that I'm excited to buy myself.

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