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    LIDAR/Ultrasonic Sensors: For precise altitude holding (especially close to the ground) and obstacle detection
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                         in confined spaces.
                  Sensor Payloads for Drones

                  Beyond the sensors for flight control, drones can carry various sensor payloads – specialized equipment attached to
                  the drone – to perform their specific tasks. These payloads are often stabilized by gimbals (motorized mounts that
                  keep the sensor steady and level despite drone movement).
                  Visual Cameras

                      Description: High-resolution cameras (still photo or video) for capturing imagery.
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                      Application: Aerial photography and videography, mapping, surveillance, inspection.
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                      Example: A drone taking  breathtaking  cinematic  shots  of a landscape  or capturing  detailed  images  of a
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                      construction site.

                  Thermal Cameras (Infrared Cameras)
                      Description: Detects infrared radiation (heat signatures) instead of visible light. Objects emit heat, making them
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                      visible even in darkness or through smoke.
                      Application: Search and rescue (locating people by their body heat in rubble or dense foliage), building inspection
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                      (identifying heat leaks), wildlife monitoring, firefighting (identifying hot spots).
                      Example: A drone equipped with a thermal camera scanning a collapsed building after an earthquake to find trapped
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                      survivors by their heat signatures.

                  LIDAR Sensors
                      Description: Generates precise 3D point clouds of the terrain or objects below, regardless of lighting.
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                      Application: High-accuracy 3D mapping and surveying, forestry (measuring tree heights), urban planning, creating
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                      detailed digital elevation models.
                      Example: A drone with a LIDAR system flying over a forest to create a precise 3D model of the canopy and ground,
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                      helping foresters monitor tree health and growth.

                  Multispectral and Hyperspectral Cameras
                      Description:  Capture  light  across  specific,  narrow bands  of  the  electromagnetic  spectrum,  including  visible  and
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                      invisible light (like Near-Infrared). Different plant health conditions reflect light differently in these bands.

                      Application: Precision  agriculture  (assessing  crop  health, detecting  plant  stress, identifying  pest  infestations),
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                      environmental monitoring, forestry.
                      Example: A drone carrying a multispectral camera flying over a farm. The data is processed by Artificial Intelligence
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                      to create “health maps” of the fields, showing where crops are stressed and need water or fertiliser, allowing farmers
                      to apply resources only where needed.

                                               Jetson Thor: A Supercharged “Robot Brain” for Next-Gen Robotics

                                      NVIDIA’s new Jetson Thor module is a compact yet powerful AI computing platform for
                                     robots. Priced at $3,499, it delivers 7.5× more AI performance, triple energy efficiency, and
                        BRAINY                      includes 128 GB RAM—all in a 130-watt edge-AI system.
                         FACT
                                    This enables robots to run generative AI models, improve sensing, reasoning, and autonomy—
                                      now being tested by performance leaders like Amazon Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Meta,
                                                                      and John Deere.

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                  Touchpad Robotics - XI

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