Most drone cameras solve one problem. A daylight EO camera gives you visual clarity in good conditions. A thermal camera gives you heat signatures in the dark. What neither solves on its own is the full operational picture — the ability to see, identify, and act regardless of conditions.
The VST-CAM was designed around the premise that a single-spectrum sensor is a compromise. Multi-spectrum fusion is the baseline.
Three Sensors, One Package
The VST-CAM integrates three imaging systems into a single mountable unit:
Electro-Optical (EO) — high-resolution daylight imaging with optical zoom. Sufficient for positive identification at standoff distances relevant to the VST platform range envelope.
Infrared (IR) — active IR illumination for night operations without visible light signature. The IR system provides usable imagery in conditions where EO is effectively blind.
Thermal — uncooled LWIR thermal imaging that detects heat signatures through obscurants including smoke, light fog, and vegetation. Thermal does not care about ambient light conditions at all.
Onboard AI Processing
The intelligence layer is what separates the VST-CAM from a collection of sensors. Onboard processing runs detection and classification algorithms directly on the camera hardware — no round-trip to a ground station required.
The system performs real-time detection of personnel, vehicles, and user-defined object classes. Detections are tagged with confidence scores and position data and surfaced to the operator as actionable alerts rather than requiring continuous manual monitoring of a video feed.
This matters operationally because an operator managing multiple platforms cannot watch every feed simultaneously. The AI layer watches for them.
Automatic Spectrum Selection
In standard operation, the camera automatically selects the optimal imaging mode based on ambient light conditions and thermal contrast. Operators can override to a specific spectrum at any time, but the default behavior means the system is always presenting the clearest available picture without requiring manual intervention.
At dusk and dawn — the transitions where single-spectrum cameras perform worst — the fusion mode blends EO and thermal to maintain continuity.
Integration With VST Platforms
The VST-CAM mounts on all three VST drone platforms via a standardized vibration-isolated interface. The electrical connection carries both power and data over a single connector. Swapping sensors in the field takes under five minutes.
The camera feed integrates natively with the VST software platform and outputs standard RTSP and STANAG 4609 streams for compatibility with third-party C2 systems.
Procurement
The VST-CAM is available as a standalone unit or bundled with any VST drone platform. Contact us to discuss configurations and quantities.