HQ series · Three-axis · EO

HQ-115S three-axis gimbal camera

A three-axis gimbal camera for multirotors, fixed-wing aircraft and small helicopters. A 40x daylight optic alone, for daylight-only surveillance where the weight budget rules out a thermal channel.

Weight 1 kg
Three-axis stabilised
EO 1920 × 1080
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-115S is

A daylight-only head in the same one-kilogram class as the thermal models: a single 1920 × 1080 sensor behind a 40x zoom running 4.25 mm to 170 mm, and nothing else in the turret. The HQ-115S exists because a thermal core and its lens consume mass, volume and power that some missions would rather spend on reach in daylight. That reach is the point of the model — 6.5 km person and 17 km vehicle detection — and the penalty lands at night, because there is no IR channel to fall back on.

A single channel, and what that changes

One optic, so the questions are how far it reaches and what its absence costs.

EO / visible

1920 × 1080, 40x zoom 4.25 – 170 mm

6.5 km on a person, 17 km on a vehicle.

Where 170 mm lands you

1920 × 1080 through 4.25 – 170 mm, 40x continuous, with detection stated at 6.5 km for a person and 17 km for a vehicle on the standard 1.7 m and 2.3 m targets. The long end is 170 mm, which is what this head is for: more pixels on a distant object than a shorter optic of the same weight puts there, and that is the difference between a shape at the edge of the search area and a vehicle somebody can name.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — The single visible channel: vehicles boxed by the onboard detector.

What the missing thermal channel costs

Dropping the second sensor buys mass, volume and power — the head draws 20 W / 50 W — and it removes the boresight question outright, because a single lens has nothing to align to. The cost is the whole thermal question: a joint running warm, a body under foliage, a vehicle that stopped with its engine still hot, and every task after dark. The visible channel needs light to work with.

Search and identification on the same optic

At 4.25 mm the frame covers a wide area for the sweep; at 170 mm it closes onto one object. Because the travel is continuous there is no gap between the two settings and no hand-off to a second sensor, so the target stays in the tracker box while the lens runs in. Autofocus and sub-pixel electronic stabilisation hold the frame across that travel.

Where a two-sensor head divides work between sensors, this one divides it between zoom settings — and takes the whole night out of scope in exchange for the reach.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

Direct drive on all three axes

Yaw, pitch and roll are each driven directly by a brushless motor with high-resolution encoding, with no gear stage anywhere in the path. Line-of-sight error is held to ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) with ≥ 60°/s of angular velocity available in the loop.

The same 1 kg, in Φ115 × 171.8 mm

Mass is 1 kg and the envelope Φ115 × 171.8 mm, on 11–28 VDC and drawing 20 W / 50 W. That places it in the same mass class as the two-sensor heads, so an aircraft already budgeted for one of those carries this one without a mount change.

Detection and tracking at the edge

Recognition happens before the video leaves

Person and vehicle detection, target lock and autonomous tracking share one module inside the payload. The crew picks a target on the operator screen and the head holds it, which takes manual tracking off the operator during a long orbit.

Degraded link, unchanged picture

Nothing is processed on the ground, so the boxes and the lock survive a poor downlink. Anti-occlusion logic re-acquires a target that passes behind terrain, a mast or another object, and the recording is written on board regardless.

Mounting, power and data

The airframe side of the programme, for a single-sensor head.

Mount and envelope

The head sits on a quick-release interface with a vibration-isolated base, and adapter plates cover airframes whose bolt pattern differs. Mass and envelope are catalogue limits, so the load calculation closes before hardware is built, and 1 kg leaves margin on a small multirotor.

Interface, temperature, sealing

Voltage is 11–28 VDC; commands go over serial on RS-422, RS-232 or TTL, with SBUS and MAVLink supported at the aircraft end; video is Ethernet at 100 Mbps in H.264 or H.265 and records to 128 GB inside the head. Rated −20 °C to +60 °C operating and −40 °C to +70 °C storage, in a sealed housing — all of it common to the range, and set out on the technology pages.

On the aircraft

Single-sensor head on a multirotor: the same mount and cable run as the two-sensor models.

A documentation pack ships with the first head: protocol document, video pipeline notes, three-view outline with connector pinout, calibration and test report. Anything released is subject to the same export assessment as the unit.

Full specifications

Model	HQ-115S
Series	Gimbal Camera Series (HQ series)
Stabilisation	Three-axis gyro-stabilised, ≤ 100 μrad
Sensor configuration	EO
Visible channel	1920 × 1080, 40x zoom 4.25 – 170 mm
Weight	≤1 kg
Dimensions	≤Φ115 × 171.8 mm
Power consumption	20 W / 50 W
Detection (EO)	6.5 km person / 17 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 (original equipment manufacturer) 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.

Where the HQ-115S is used

Three profiles where a single daylight channel and 1 kg of mass are the right answer.

Approach and airfield clearance
Daylight clearance work is about picking out a small object against a busy background at the far edge of an approach. 6.5 km person detection with a 40x zoom lets a crew find something on the boundary and then identify it without moving the aircraft closer, which keeps the aircraft clear of the path it is watching and keeps the identification at a standoff.
UAV security →
Evidence capture for law enforcement
Evidence needs a frame that identifies a person or a plate, plus a record that survives the flight. The 170 mm end does the identification from a standoff the subject is unlikely to notice, and on-board recording keeps the clip intact if the downlink drops during the pass. One sensor also means one file per sortie, with no second channel to reconcile afterwards.
UAV surveillance →
Pipeline and right-of-way patrol by day
A corridor is a long, thin search area: the wide end covers it efficiently, the long end checks excavation, vegetation and marker posts from a safe standoff, and 17 km vehicle detection carries the transit legs that need no closer look. One optic doing both is why the head can stay at 1 kg, and why the aircraft can be the small one.
UAV inspection →

Questions engineers ask about the HQ-115S

How far out will the HQ-115S pick up a person or a vehicle?

6.5 km on a person and 17 km on a vehicle, on the standard 1.7 m person and 2.3 m vehicle targets. Those are detection figures; recognition and identification need a narrower field and a closer target, and the datasheet carries those numbers.

What are the order terms and delivery times?

A catalogue configuration is available from one unit. Changing optics, mount or protocol puts the order into custom territory, which starts at 100 units, with the build window agreed in the quotation. Catalogue heads ship from stock, so the lead time is transport; volume dates are fixed with the quotation.

Why choose a daylight-only head over one with thermal?

Because the same 1 kg can buy reach instead of a second sensor. The 40x optic reaches 6.5 km on a person and 17 km on a vehicle, and the single sensor draws 20 W / 50 W. The trade is stated plainly: no thermal means no night imaging and no heat signature, so a night task needs a different head.

Is 170 mm enough to identify, or only to detect?

The zoom runs 4.25 – 170 mm continuously, so the operator is not choosing between two fixed fields. Detection is 6.5 km person / 17 km vehicle; identification needs a narrower field and a nearer target, and that figure belongs to the datasheet rather than to the detection line.

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-115S

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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