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DJI unveils Matrice 300 RTK


May 14, 2020  By Wings Staff

The Matrice 300 RTK includes Smart Inspection as a new set of features developed to optimize routine data collection missions such as power lines, railway and oil and gas inspections. (Photo: DJI)

DJI of Shenzhen, China, on May 7 unveiled what it describes as its most-advanced commercial drone platform, the Matrice 300 RTK and the Zenmuse H20 Series – the latter being a new hybrid, multi-sensor camera. DJI expects to starting ship the product in the second quarter of 2020.

“This solution sets an entirely new standard for industrial UAV solutions, significantly enhancing operations across public safety, law enforcement, energy, surveying and mapping as well as critical infrastructure inspections,” said Christina Zhang, senior director, corporate strategy at DJI.

DJI describes the M300 RTK as its first ever product that integrates modern aviation features, advanced AI capabilities, six Directional Sensing and Positioning System, a UAV health management system, and a 55-minute flight time.

In addition to AES-256 encryption and an IP45 weather resistant enclosure, the drone platform comes built-in with an all-new OcuSync Enterprise transmission system, which provides a triple-channel 1080p video transmission signal reaching up to 15 km away. The M300 RTK can simultaneously support up to three payloads and has a maximum payload capability of up to 2.7 kg.

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“For our teams working in the oil-and-gas industry, performance and safety are not optional. We cannot compromise on our pursuit of utilizing the best and most efficient tools available,” said Adam Serblowski, robotics theme lead at Shell. “The DJI Matrice 300 RTK proves to be an ideal upgrade over the existing DJI product line, and it helps us to further enhance the benefits of our drone programs.”

Combined, the M300 RTK and Zenmuse H20 Series solution offers users two intelligent ways to collect data, including Smart Pin & Track and Smart Inspection. Smart Pin & Track includes functions that enhance synchronization of aerial intelligence in coordinated missions. It includes PinPoint, a function that allows users to mark the subject of interest and instantly share location data to a second operator or if necessary to ground teams via DJI FlightHub; and Smart Track, which allows users to automatically detect and track a moving object, even at extreme distances, while synchronizing the subject’s dynamic location in real time.

Smart Inspection is a new set of features developed to optimize routine data collection missions such as power lines, railway and oil and gas inspections. It consists of Live Mission Recording for recording sample automated missions in real time; AI-Spot Check, which enables data collection from exactly the same location every time, greatly improving the accuracy of automated missions. After photos from a sample waypoint inspection mission have been recorded, operators are able to mark the subject of interest.

During subsequent automated flight missions, Smart Inspection AI algorithms perform a comparison between the marked subject and current live view, correcting the camera orientation accordingly to deliver consistent results; and Waypoints 2.0 – an improved mission planning system offering up to 65,535 waypoints, while supporting a range of consecutive actions, third-party payloads, and more.

The M300 RTK features a Primary Flight Display (PFD) that merges real-time flight and navigation data into one integrated display. Besides standard telemetry data like altitude and speed, the M300 RTK PFD provides obstacle data for visualizing nearby obstacles during flight. These enhancements allow users to keep track of the aircraft while further enhancing the pilot’s situational awareness.

New to DJI’s commercial drone platforms and exclusive to the M300 RTK, is Advanced Dual Operator Mode – multi-pilot control protocols designed to provide missions with enhanced safety, reliability and flexibility. The M300 RTK, when controlled by two pilots, gives each pilot equal access to gain flight control priority, the transfer of which is displayed by a series of icons on the DJI Smart Controller Enterprise. If one pilot becomes compromised or their controller loses battery or connection, the other pilot gains full control over the M300 RTK and its payloads. Additionally, when training new pilots, the teacher/main pilot can safely take over flight control – if and whenever necessary.

The M300 RTK comes with new and improved safety and reliability enhancements, including: AES-256 Encryption for secure data transmission of the command & control uplink and video transmission downlink; AirSense (ADS-B technology); Anti-Collision Beacon for increased aircraft visibility, especially in low-light conditions; IP45 Protection Rating and Self-Heating Battery for adverse weather conditions (-20 to 50° C); and the 6 Directional Sensing and Positioning System, which offers a maximum detection range of up to 40-m horizontally, with options to customize the aircraft sensing behaviour via DJI Pilot.

The M300 RTK offers an integrated UAV Health Management System (UHMS) to optimize fleet maintenance. It records the aircraft’s flight data throughout its entire lifecycle, and utilizes the drone’s hardware and software systems to understand current aircraft performance and determine when it should be serviced. Taking advantage of this new system, users can get a quick overview of all critical aircraft systems, manage firmware updates across an entire fleet, track pilot hours and review flight missions.

To fit the new standards set by the M300 RTK, DJI has unveiled completely new camera payloads that improve mission efficiency. The Zenmuse H20 series offers DJI’s first ever Hybrid multi-sensor solution, allowing to capture any kind of images for industrial applications and public safety missions where efficient time management and immediate access to multiple layers of visions are paramount. The H20 Series is IP44 rated which protects enclosures from splashes of water from any direction.

The H20 series comes in two versions: The H20, a triple sensor with a 20MP, 23x Hybrid Optical Zoom Camera, a 12MP Wide Camera, and a Laser Range Finder covering distances from 3m-1200m; and the H20T, a quad sensor which adds a 640×512 Radiometric Thermal Camera, allowing operators to see what is invisible to the human eye thanks to high thermal sensitivity a 30 fps video definition.

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