HQ series · Three-axis · EO + IR + LRF

HQ-100T three-axis gimbal camera with 1.5 km LRF

The same 800 g three-axis head as the 100D, with a 1.5 km laser rangefinder added. Because it uses the same stabilisation stack and control protocol as the rest of the HQ series, it can share a mount and a cable run with other heads in the range.

Weight 800 g
Three-axis stabilised
EO 1920 × 1080
Thermal 640 × 512
LRF 5 m – 1.5 km (± 1 m)
AI detection & tracking

CE / RoHS documentation available on request
Export compliance statement available on request
Calibration and test report supplied with every unit

What the HQ-100T is

The HQ-100T is a three-axis head carrying a laser: 800 g in Φ100 × 156 mm, a 1920 × 1080 daylight optic zooming 10x across 4.7 – 47 mm, a 640 × 512 thermal core on 19 mm, and a rangefinder at 5 m – 1.5 km. It is the entry configuration in the 800 g class, and it has a ceiling: 10x is not a long lens. What it buys is a roll-stabilised head with all three channels on an airframe that cannot lift a kilogram: 1.8 km on a person, 10 km on a vehicle by day.

Three channels, and the ceiling on each

All three are here. None is the longest in the range, and this page says so.

EO / visible

1920 × 1080, 10x zoom 4.7 – 47 mm

1.8 km person, 10 km vehicle.

Thermal / IR

640 × 512, 19 mm fixed

0.53 km person, 2.5 km vehicle.

Laser rangefinder

5 m – 1.5 km (± 1 m)

1535 nm, eye-safe. A position rather than a bearing.

What 10x does, and what it does not

4.7 mm covers a compound or a span in one frame; 47 mm reads a vehicle and the ground around it. Between them the optic travels continuously, which is the useful part: one lever widens for the search and closes for the look. What 10x will not do is identify a person at the far end of the 1.8 km figure: 47 mm lacks the focal length and the aperture for that.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — Wide end of the zoom, vehicles boxed automatically.

A thermal core for the hours the zoom cannot help

640 × 512 through 19 mm, uncooled, aligned to the daylight optic. Detection is 0.53 km on a person and 2.5 km on a vehicle, and neither figure moves when the sun goes down. The core is fixed, so the night field is settled on the ground: 19 mm covers a compound from working altitude, anything smaller means flying closer.

Thermal imagery from a HITS camera payload with a target held by the onboard tracker — Thermal channel, lock held on a moving target.

Ranging inside 1.5 km

± 1 m across the span, from five metres out. The near end earns its place on an 800 g head: a mast base, a roof edge or a vehicle a few hundred metres away all fit, and the reading goes into the coordinate solution instead of stopping on screen. Past 1.5 km the geometry ends.

HITS ground station showing UAV payload video with target coordinates — Station display with coordinate from the laser.

The summary: three channels on three axes at 800 g, with focal length on both imaging paths as the thing that had to give.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

Three axes on a sub-kilogram head

Every axis, yaw as well as pitch and roll, carries its own brushless motor, encoding feeding the loop, nothing geared between. The third axis separates this head from lighter two-axis models: roll is corrected here, so a multirotor in gusty air still returns usable video. Error stays within ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) on ≥ 60°/s.

800 g, Φ100 × 156 mm

800 g in a Φ100 × 156 mm cylinder, on 11–28 VDC and 15 W / 30 W. A small multirotor, a fixed-wing aircraft or a light helicopter has headroom; both catalogue limits, so mount and budget settle before hardware exists.

Detection and tracking at the edge

A classifier in the turret

People, vehicles, vessels and aircraft are detected on the payload, so boxes appear whether or not the downlink is healthy, and no image crosses the link for processing. Twenty tracks at once, one actively locked. Here the detector finds and the optic stays put.

What the operator is handed

A box that survives rotation and scale change, a lock re-acquired after a mast or a building takes the target, and a recording written on board. With the rangefinder, one pass yields a marked target and a measured distance.

Airframe integration

A sub-kilogram three-axis head: mount, bus, environment and the paperwork that ships with it.

Mount

A vibration-isolated base carries a quick-release face; adapter plates cover a bolt circle that does not match ours. The bracket is stress-cased against Φ100 × 156 mm and 800 g, which is a mass a small multirotor manages without a dedicated hard point.

Bus and sealing

Input spans 11 to 28 VDC. Serial control arrives on RS-422, RS-232 or TTL; SBUS and MAVLink are accepted where the autopilot speaks them. Imagery leaves on 100 Mbps Ethernet as H.264 or H.265 and is written to 128 GB internally. Sealing handles dust and rotor wash; the envelope is −20 °C to +60 °C working, −40 °C to +70 °C stored. Every model in the range shares this, as the technology pages explain.

HQ-100T camera payload integrated on an aircraft with ground control station

Bench and aircraft

Integration on the bench first: protocol, video path and gimbal limits checked before the first flight, then the same harness goes into the airframe.

With the first head: protocol, pipeline note, outline with pinout, calibration record, test report. Export screening covers paper too.

Where the HQ-100T is used

Three tasks that fit inside 1.5 km, 47 mm and 800 g.

Site and compound watch
A site boundary is a few hundred metres across and a night shift needs thermal cover. The 640 × 512 core detects at 0.53 km, the 10x daylight optic identifies in the morning, and the rangefinder puts a distance on anything at a fence line. All three sit on one roll-stabilised 800 g head, so a small multirotor holds the pattern without a stabilised mount of its own.
UAV security →
Substation and plant rounds
Close work on plant is a three-channel job: visible to read a fitting, thermal to see which one is running warm, laser to record how far it is. All three work inside 1.5 km and inside 47 mm, which is the scale of a substation bay, and 800 g keeps the aircraft small enough to work between structures.
UAV inspection →
First response overwatch
A response call is a close event with a short decision cycle. The thermal channel finds people in smoke or dark at 0.53 km, the daylight zoom reads the scene once a light is on it, and a laser distance gives a command post something to place on a map. The three-axis mount is what keeps it readable while the aircraft manoeuvres low over the scene.
UAV surveillance →

Full specifications

Model	HQ-100T
Series	Gimbal Camera Series (HQ series)
Stabilisation	Three-axis gyro-stabilised, ≤ 100 μrad
Sensor configuration	EO + IR + LRF
Visible channel	1920 × 1080, 10x zoom 4.7 – 47 mm
Thermal channel	640 × 512, 19 mm fixed
Laser rangefinder	5 m – 1.5 km (± 1 m)
Weight	≤800 g
Dimensions	≤Φ100 × 156 mm
Power consumption	15 W / 30 W
Detection (EO)	1.8 km person / 10 km vehicle
Detection (IR)	0.53 km person / 2.5 km vehicle

Detection distances follow the standard 1.7 m person / 2.3 m vehicle convention. Rows marked as shared are common across the HQ series.

Control software: Windows as standard. An Android version can be customised for OEM/ODM projects.

Shared across the HQ series

Video output: Ethernet, H.264 / H.265
Gimbal control: RS-422 / RS-232 / TTL, SBUS, MAVLink
Input voltage: 11–28 VDC
Operating temperature: −20 °C to +60 °C
Sealing: Sealed housing for dust, wind and rotor wash
Recording: On-board recording, imagery retained if the link drops
AI module: Onboard detection, classification and multi-target tracking
Mounting: Quick-release interface, adapters available for OEM airframes

Three-view outline drawing with connector pinout, available on request.

Outline and interface drawingThree-view outline with dimensions and the connector pinout for this head. The drawing set is released with the datasheet — ask for it with your quotation and we will send the PDF for your airframe review.

Questions engineers ask about the HQ-100T

What does the HQ-100T detect, and at what distance?

By day, 1.8 km to a person and 10 km to a vehicle. On the thermal core, 0.53 km and 2.5 km. Both sets use the standard 1.7 m person and 2.3 m vehicle targets and both are detection only; identification comes at closer range, and 10x will not stretch that out to the detection figure.

How many units, and how soon?

Stock configuration: one unit is enough. Custom configuration: from 100 units. Anything already built is dispatched as it stands and the remaining wait is carriage; a custom or high-volume run has its schedule written into the quotation. Payment by T/T, warranty twelve months.

Is a 10x optic enough for the job?

For a compound, a substation bay or a vehicle a few hundred metres out, yes. For identifying a face or reading a plate at 1.8 km, no. That is beyond what 47 mm resolves, and the fix is a longer optic on a heavier head. Treat 1.8 km as the detection envelope and plan identification well inside it.

Why fit a third axis at this mass?

Roll is the axis a small airframe finds hardest to hold. Correcting it inside the head lets the aircraft bank and still return level video, which is the practical difference between this and a lighter two-axis model. With pitch and yaw only, every turn would tilt the horizon.

Designed and manufactured by HITS

Optics, servo hardware, stabilisation firmware and the AI tracking module are developed in house, and every unit is assembled, calibrated and environmentally tested on our own line before it ships.

HITS engineer testing a stabilised gimbal camera payload on the test bench before dispatch

Production line assembling stabilised gimbal camera payloads at the HITS factory

Engineer assembling the internal components of a HITS stabilised gimbal camera payload

Gimbal payloads on the calibration and environmental test rack at the HITS factory

Next steps for this payload: how it is inspected and tested · export licensing and documentation · ordering and integration FAQ

Request a quotation for the HQ-100T

Tell us the platform, the range you need to identify and how many units you are planning. Every configuration is quoted individually, so you get a written price against your own requirement rather than a list figure that does not fit it. We answer within one working day.

MOQFrom 1 unit

Small ordersUsually held in stock, shipped straight away

Volume ordersDelivery schedule confirmed with your quotation

Reply timeWithin one working day

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