Scout 137 Gen 3
Scout 137 Gen 2
Software
Content
Company
Capture
4K video 3.5× optical zoom 12 000 lm of structured light.
The 4K Zoom Camera is the default eye on Scout 137, on every flight. 3.5× optical zoom, six high-power LEDs, and a ±90° gimbal for an unobstructed view in every direction — live in Scout Operator, uploaded to Scout Portal after landing.
Why it works
Five design choices that make 4K capture useful inside an unlit tank.
Light built for dark steel
Six high-power LEDs — three on each side, pointing up, down and forward — put out up to 12 000 lumens. Dim them, switch sides, or aim the light where the surface needs it: balance exposure on dark steel and reflective coatings in the same shot.
They’re bright enough to need eye protection at full output — no more washed-out blooms, no more underexposed welds.
Optical zoom + autofocus
A 3.5× optical-zoom lens with autofocus lets you read fine detail without flying close to delicate, fragile or hazardous structure — keep a safe standoff and still resolve a weld, a coating edge or a hairline crack.
Wide for the general sweep, zoomed for the close work — no lens changes, no extra passes.
Autofocus handles most shots, but when one needs it you can take manual control of focus, exposure and more, right in Scout Operator while you fly. And with the tether feeding continuous power, there’s no battery clock: take the time you need to get every shot right.
±90° gimbal
The 2-axis gimbal tilts the full ±90° — straight down at the floor, straight up at overhead welds and the deckhead. Many drones can’t look above themselves; in a confined asset, the ceiling is half the inspection.
And the LEDs aim both up and down, so the view is lit whichever way the camera points — no dark ceilings when you tilt to look overhead.
Pan comes from rotating the drone, so the camera always holds a steady, level horizon on the part you’re reading.
Swappable by design
The 4K Zoom Camera mounts in a dedicated payload bay with a standard camera-and-gimbal interface. It’s the only camera payload we offer today — but the bay is built to carry what comes next: thermal, long-range telephoto optics, higher-resolution sensors, or a combination.
When a new payload arrives, it drops into the same Scout 137 you already own — no new platform, no new training. The platform grows with your inspection needs. Got a payload in mind? Tell us what to build →
Live, located, on the record
The HD feed streams to Scout Operator (the drone app) the moment the drone powers on — the operator sees what the camera sees, with full lighting control on the same screen. Drop a point of interest from the controller as you fly: it captures a 4K photo and pins it to its exact position in the asset, highlighted so it’s easy to find again.
The SLAM 3D map runs throughout, so every photo, the video and the drone’s position are recorded together, located in the asset. In Scout Portal you navigate straight to any POI, measure it, and pull it into the report. And because each one is positioned, you can return to the exact same spot on the next inspection to track how a defect develops.
Add Scout Companion on a second tablet and the inspector follows the live 4K feed during the flight, validating each capture while the drone is still at the spot. It ships with the UTM payload.
Photos on demand
Operator triggers full-resolution 4K photos at any moment without interrupting the video record.
Always on board
The 4K Zoom Camera is part of every Scout 137 flight — no per-flight mounting, no calibration. Camera and lighting are there from power-on.
Reviewed in Scout Portal
After landing, upload the flight to Scout Portal, where defect marking, measurement and reporting happen against the 3D-anchored record.
See what it sees
A real, live customer inspection — a crack assessment from the field. The wide view for context, then the optical zoom from the same spot, without flying any closer.
Screenshots of the piloting app itself — not processed photos, and not the field inspection above — captured during a test flight in ScoutDI's Flight Lab: full telemetry, point-cloud map and distance lock stay on screen as the pilot zooms in.
How it works
No separate workflow: the camera is on the drone. It activates with the drone, streams to Scout Operator, records continuously, and lands in Scout Portal alongside the rest of the flight.
01
Power on the drone. The 4K camera and the six LEDs activate automatically with a default lighting scheme. No mounting, no calibration.
02
The HD feed streams to Scout Operator from power-on. As the drone enters the asset, the operator aims the light and tilts the gimbal on the same screen.
03
4K video records continuously. Trigger full-resolution photos and drop highlighted POIs on demand, zooming for detail without flying closer. Validate each capture live and retake it on the spot, so a soft image never sends you back for a second deployment.
04
After landing, upload the flight to Scout Portal. Defect marking, measurement, reports and 3D-map navigation happen there, against the complete record.
Want to see it on your asset?
Further reading
Two field-grounded articles from our camera team on what actually drives inspection image quality — sensors, optics, exposure and light in confined spaces.
There are lots of factors that affect inspection image quality. A good quality camera that suits your application is essential. This article aims to explain the fundamental concepts required in order to understand how to use it best.
In part 1 we looked at factors that influence camera image quality – beyond the number of megapixels, being the parameter typically used to highlight image quality potential. Now let’s put it into the context of indoor drone inspection.
Specifications
The tethered inspection drone system. Unlimited flight time, clean data out of GPS-denied confined spaces.
Explore →Ultrasonic thickness measurement in flight — surface prep and UTM as one continuous, controlled workflow.
Explore →Real-time 3D mapping and SLAM positioning — every finding located in the point cloud.
Explore →Flammable-gas detection riding on the drone — NevadaNano MPS, 14 gases, live telemetry before anyone enters.
Explore →The cloud platform: live streaming, inspection data management and sharing with stakeholders.
Explore →Talk to us
Book a free 45-minute online demo. A pilot and an application engineer fly Scout 137 live and walk you through real inspection footage — so you see the 4K detail, the zoom and the lighting on the screen you’ll actually review them on.
