For a robot to save lives, it needs to be able to not just go into danger, but also to do something useful while it is there. The FLIR MUVE C360, a chemical-sensing platform announced Sept. 24 at the Airworks 2019 conference, wants to mitigate the hazards of hazardous material. It is a flying machine defined by the sensors it carries.
Built specifically to mount on a DJI Matrice 210 airframe, the FLIR-built MUVE C360 is marketed at public safety and enterprise customers. The 360 is for 360-degree situational awareness, both with cameras and especially in gasses it can detect.
“The MUVE C360 features an eight-channel gas detection sensor, including a photoionization detector (PID), lower explosive limit (LEL), oxygen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and chlorine,” said a FLIR spokesperson. The drone can also mount a DJI-made Zenmuse XT2 thermal sensor and camera, offering “visible detection and clues on where to examine a scene to locate the source, both in visible and infrared light.”
Outside of industry use, FLIR sees the MUVE C360 as a tool for police and firefighters to use in first response, sending the robot in for valuable information about a potentially dangerous situation before risking a human. FLIR expects to ship to U.S. customers before the end of 2019 and to customers in Europe by early 2020.
While not explicitly marketed at a military customer, valuable sensor systems marketed at the commercial and public safety worlds often find their way into military acquisitions.
This is a situation that has put DJI in an interesting place in the past, as its explicitly not military-grade equipment ends up purchased by military customers, and then becomes the subject of congressional scrutiny over why the military went for a commercial off-the-shelf capability.
While the MUVE C360 is explicitly designed to mount onto a DJI-made airframe, the flexibility of sensor packages is such that, should it spark Pentagon interest, it could likely be adapted to a different airframe if need be.
When it comes to a flying camera that read the gasses in a room, the flying part is almost secondary to the overall sensor effect.
Kelsey Atherton blogs about military technology for C4ISRNET, Fifth Domain, Defense News, and Military Times. He previously wrote for Popular Science, and also created, solicited, and edited content for a group blog on political science fiction and international security.
