DJI is constantly coming out with new recreational and commercial drones with impressive visual imaging systems that can capture high-quality images from the sky. But while many commercial drones are either entirely visual or entirely thermal, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced gives you the best of both worlds. Like the Mavic 2 Dual, this new compact, foldable drone has both a high-resolution thermal imaging camera and a visual camera that gives you greater detail in your mission.
Unlike the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual, however, this new thermal drone has even greater visual and thermal capabilities to help you capture the detail you need right when you need it. Whether you’re a fire fighter looking to scour a building for hotspots or a cell tower inspector examining a cell phone tower to determine its condition, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced can help you get the job done right. We’ll go over everything you need to know about DJI’s latest drone, its main applications, and how it compares to the Mavic 2 Dual so that you can decide whether or not it’s right for you.
The DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced bears many of the same features and capabilities as the Mavic 2 Dual, including the ability to display multiple modes at once. However, this new thermal drone goes above and beyond to provide you with even better visual data, resulting in crystal clear images that give you the information you need to get the job done.
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is equipped with a 640x512 high-resolution thermal imaging camera which is comparable to the Zenmuse XT2, Zenmuse XTS and the Zenmuse H20T. Also included is a 48 megapixel visual camera, this drone seamlessly transitions between visual and thermal views. It also features a remarkably advanced digital zoom for both the visual and the thermal imaging camera, allowing you to capture your images from a safe distance while not sacrificing the quality you need.
Here are the main features of the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced:
Dual Imaging
One of the most dynamic features of the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is its dual imaging system, which allows you to view both visual and thermal imaging on the same device. With the use of the DJI Pilot app, operators can quickly and seamlessly switch between different live feeds based on their needs at that given moment. You can choose between Thermal, Visual, or even Split-screen feeds to help you see the information you need to make decisions in the moment. In a search and rescue mission, you don’t want to waste valuable time switching in between feeds.
48 Megapixel Visual Camera
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced comes with a 48 megapixel visual camera that gives you crystal clear vision at a much higher resolution than any other thermal drone. With the use of the Sony IMX586 ½” CMOS sensor, same as the one seen on the Mavic Air 2, you can capture clear images with the details you need to successfully complete your mission. The camera also supports up to 4x lossless zoom and allows you a staggering 32x digital zoom to help you get the shot you need from a safe distance.
High-Resolution Thermal Imaging
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced features the same dual thermal and visual imaging as the original Mavic 2 Dual but with some serious upgrades. This DJI thermal drone features a 640 x 512 resolution thermal imaging unit that helps you make quick decisions on site. The thermal imager even allows you up to 16x digital zoom and a 30Hz refresh rate, which can come in handy when scouring foliage during a search and rescue or detecting hotspots during inspections. With temperature measurement accuracy within plus or minus 2 degrees Celsius, it’s clear that the M2EA has the accuracy you need in a thermal drone.
Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing
Despite being built to last, commercial drones are in danger of damage without proper obstacle sensing technology to help them avoid collision. The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced comes with omnidirectional obstacle sensing, giving you the highest level of protection to keep your drone safe. With sensors located on every side of the device, this thermal drone will continuously scan the nearby environment and detect obstacles in real-time. This can help you automatically avoid collision, even when flying at high speeds.
OcuSync 2.0 Video Transmission System
One of the downsides of many commercial drones is their inability to fly long distances without losing video transmission. Thanks to the OcuSync 2.0 video transmission system, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advances has a max transmission distance of up to 10km. This ensures low latency while also maintaining a high video downlink quality to ensure you get real-time high definition video.
Flexibility
Like all DJI drones in the Mavic series, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is notable for its flexibility and compact nature. You can easily fold the drone into a small size to store in a bag for you to carry anywhere you need it deployed. When unfolded, the drone is still small enough to navigate through complex operating environments without having to worry about it getting stuck or crashing into anything.
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced comes with several optional modular accessories that can expand the capabilities of the drone and better aid your mission.
RTK Enabled Precision Positioning
Several of the DJI drones such as the DJI Matrice 300 RTK are made with centimeter-level precision positioning capabilities built into the device itself, but this can make the drone much more costly. While the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is not made with RTK technology, it does offer an optional modular RTK accessory to add more precise positioning capabilities to this drone.
Spotlight
The Mavic 2 Enterprise spotlight is a modular accessory available to any of the drones in the M2E line, giving you the ability to greatly enhance vision in low-light areas. Whether you’re inspecting powerlines in a low-light area or performing a search and rescue mission in the dead of night, you can illuminate your target to boost visibility. This is particularly useful for emergency responders looking for a way to guide lost persons to safety after natural disasters.
Speaker
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Speaker is another excellent modular attachment that can aid communication. This attachment can allow emergency responders to communicate with ground teams when responding to natural disasters as well as transmit important audible messages to people who are lost or stranded. The user can even store multiple voice recordings to play through the device as needed or on a loop.
Beacon
Visibility is further aided by the Mavic 2 Enterprise beacon attachment, which can allow operators to better see the thermal drone while in flight. This attachment is perfect for night missions, as it extends the VLOS distance, shining a light into the sky to help you keep track of the drone. You can easily control the beacon attachment through the DJI Pilot app, turning it on and off as necessary.
Firefighting
Firefighting is a dangerous operation with life or death consequences and plenty of room for error. DJI drones have been a vital tool for firefighters to complete their missions without needing to put themselves in harm’s way. Fire fighters can easily use the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced to determine what kind of hazard lies ahead and whether or not it’s safe for firefighters to go in. They can also use the thermal drone to detect heat spots and back drafts, further increasing the ability of fire fighters to stay safe in their mission.
Police Dept. / Public Safety
This thermal drone is also a valuable tool for the police department or public safety officers thanks to its unique visual capabilities. Unlike most night vision devices, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced works during both the day and at night since it looks at heat instead of relying on vision. This can be useful for surveillance, as it detects and displays objects in the dark that may otherwise be missed. The police can also use the drone for reconnaissance, scoping out areas to ensure they’re safe before going in.
Search and Rescue
A thermal drone is an invaluable tool in any search and rescue operation, as lost persons will light up instantly once their heat is registered on the drone. The thermal camera provides night vision when scouring foliage to detect lost persons. Search and rescue personnel can also add the spotlight attachment to look for people at night, while the speaker attachment is a great tool to relay messages to stranded persons once they’re found.
Powerline Inspections
Powerline inspections have been greatly aided by thermal drones such as the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. Its thermal camera can quickly and easily detect hotspots along powerlines, giving inspectors the ability to conduct inspections on critical infrastructure both quickly and safely. It also expedites routine maintenance tasks, helping you save both time and money.
Cell Tower Inspection
Cell tower inspections also benefit greatly from commercial drones such as the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. With the use of the thermal camera, you can perform inspections with added safety and enhanced efficiency, collecting highly detailed visual data regarding the condition of cell phone towers.
The Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is definitely a superior model to the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual, although they both feature many of the same capabilities. Both models feature a max flight time of 31 minutes and a max flight speed of 72kph. They also have the same dimensions of 214 x 91 x 84mm when folded and 322 x 242 x 84mm when unfolded. And, like many DJI drones, both feature the same OcuSync 2.0 and omnidirectional obstacle avoidance that help keep the drone safe from collision.
However, unlike the Mavic 2 Dual, whose thermal camera has a resolution of only 160 x 120, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced has an impressive 640 x 512 sensor resolution. It also features an impressive 16x digital zoom for its thermal camera and 32x digital zoom for its visual camera, which the Mavic 2 Dual does not. The M2EA also comes with a ½” CMOS sensor that can take 48 megapixel photos, which is quite an improvement from the 1/2.3” CMOS sensor and 12 megapixel photos of the M2ED.
The biggest differences between the two DJI drones come from the enhanced visual and thermal capabilities of the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. Whereas the DJI Mavic 2 Dual comes in at around $4,276, the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced has a slightly higher price tag of $7,999. If you’re in need of commercial drones that can give you the best of both thermal and visual imaging, then the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is a clear winner.
Until the release of the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced, the Mavic 2 Dual was one of DJI’s top commercial drones for providing both visual and thermal imaging. Now that the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced has been released, however, it’s obvious that this new thermal drone is the best option for providing images with the greatest accuracy. Not only does it shoot visual images with four times the megapixels of the Mavic 2 Dual, but its thermal imaging temperature measurement is accurate within plus or minus 2 degrees Celsius.
Accuracy is essential when you’re dealing with a life or death mission. It’s clear to see how fire fighting and search and rescue operations deal with lives on the line, but powerline inspections and cell tower inspections can also cause injury without the proper tools. By giving you the ability to shoot images and record video from a safe distance, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced is saving time, money, and lives.
Dr Drone
Author
DrDrone is Canada's leading provider of drone technical services, with over a decade of experience and the distinction of being the first company in the country to offer drone servicing and repairs. As the largest drone vendor in Canada, we are also the primary supplier of Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) to the Canadian government. Our team members possess extensive knowledge of each drone's technical specifications and have a wealth of hands-on experience. For more than ten years, we have been dismantling and reconstructing drones, ensuring a deep understanding of these systems.