[Paparazzi-devel] Critical conditions for IR thermopiles

[Reto Büttner]

Hello all,

has anyone experienced problems with IR thermopiles in flight?

I am thinking of exotic meteorological conditions where the IR
contrast between sky and earth might be to small. Or when flying in
fog or clouds. Or when flying in mountains close to terrain. My
paparazzi planes with IR thermopiles have worked fine until now, but I
just have been flying in nice weather conditions. I have read a lot
how robust IR thermopiles are to various meteorological conditions,
including flights in the arctic.

On the other hand many people in the community are not quite sure,
prefer IMU solutions and there are rumors of projects that have not
worked due to IR thermopile issues. I appreciate the efforts of
numerous people to integrating an IMU into paparazzi, but for my
project I am not sure if it is worth the effort.

Has anyone experienced the limitations of IR thermopiles?

Reto