DarkFlightThe hardest part of a bat survey isn’t the survey
Many consultancies already have thermal and NIR cameras. What often remains is acoustic matching, timestamp reconciliation, multi-angle interpretation, evidence packaging, and report preparation - staff time disappearing into desk work during peak season. DarkFlight is designed for that layer.
The whole night, in one process.
Set up in seconds
Place the unit on a tripod at your survey location. No cables, sockets or plugs, no infrared illuminators to align - the whole unit runs on a single battery, with the charge level on screen all night. Flick one switch to begin. The 86° wide-angle thermal lens takes in a whole building elevation from around 10 m back, recording a steady 25 to 30 fps right through the night.
Capture everything
The wide-angle thermal camera and the full-spectrum bat detector work together inside the same unit, so there is nothing separate to set up or sync. DarkFlight detects thermal movement, tracks bat flight paths, captures full-spectrum audio and monitors defined roost zones - in the background, leaving you in control when you want to step in. You can also add an external detector alongside the built-in one, placed right where you expect the activity.
Evidence is created during the survey
Evidence packages are created as activity occurs, rather than reconstructed later. Each event can include thermal video, the audio call, a sonogram, an accurate timestamp, species ID and location. Review during quiet periods; edit or label on-site.
Export within minutes, finish in your own reporting
Plug a USB stick into the unit and take the whole night with you: full survey MP4, combined MP4 with sonogram and audio, and GUANO audio for external tools such as Kaleidoscope or BTO. No manual review phase, no timestamp matching - and further review is still available afterwards via the onboard Analysis Suite. Your data is ready for reporting before you leave site.
- Thermal + acoustic in one unit
- Battery powered - no cables
- 10.1″ flat screen
- One-switch on / off
- ~1.5 kg, backpack-sized
- Arca-Swiss tripod mount
- 25–30 fps
- Optional external detector
- USB or Ethernet export
- ~10 min for a 2-hour survey
Then take the whole survey online into Roost, our review and report platform - thermal and acoustic together, already in sync - to confirm the bats, assign species and download report-ready evidence. See how Roost works →
DarkFlight Standard and DarkFlight Pro
Every feature is the same on both. The difference is the thermal core.
DarkFlight Standard
Non-radiometric thermal. The full DarkFlight workflow - synced thermal + acoustic capture, event evidence, same-night export.
- strong detection in typical survey conditions
- all exports and the Analysis Suite included
DarkFlight Pro
Radiometric thermal. Identical features - with far better detection in the hardest conditions.
- on a hot summer’s evening, a building can sit at a similar temperature to a bat - radiometric capture keeps detection far stronger
- the right choice for warm-weather peak season and thermally awkward structures
Not sure which version fits your sites? Ask us when you enquire.
What you get on the night
Capture
- wide-angle (86°) thermal imaging
- full-spectrum audio (to ~192 kHz, all UK species)
- both in one battery-powered unit, always in sync
- optional external detector alongside the built-in one
- roost-zone monitoring tools
- flight tracking support
Export
- full survey video export
- combined exports for review
- GUANO audio export
- works with Kaleidoscope, BTO and other tools
Evidence
- synchronised event packages
- thermal clips linked to audio and timing
- sonogram & heterodyne
An automated classifier suggests a species ID for each package (14 of the 18 UK species, with a confidence rating), but you can override it at any point and pass the full-spectrum clips through your own tools. DarkFlight does not replace ecological judgement, your reporting structure, reviewer sign-off, or external tools you already use. It reduces the mechanical stitching work between capture and evidence.
Cover more stations than you have people.
Optional, and never forced - but if your bottleneck is staffing surveys, two ways to stretch a team further:
Remote viewing
Watch and control a DarkFlight unit from your phone or tablet over a free app, including creating evidence packages. One surveyor can keep eyes on a second station from where they’re standing.
Networked units
One larger screen showing up to four DarkFlight units at once, all viewable and controllable together.
Who it’s for - honestly.
DarkFlight is likely to fit if you:
- already run emergence surveys but still lose time after the survey ends
- want premium thermal capability without buying another full system
- already use IR or WIS, but still spend too long matching evidence afterwards
- handle awkward, high-stakes or harder-to-interpret sites
- need overflow capacity during peak season without another capital purchase
- already handle routine jobs cleanly with your current workflow
- are only looking for the cheapest possible night-vision option
- do not feel any real desk burden after the survey
- want a tool that replaces ecological judgement
Think it might fit your sites?
Hire DarkFlight by the survey night, or send an enquiry with a bit about your workflow - which version suits, and whether it fits a first live job - and we’ll reply by email.
Kits are hired by the night - see hire options → · how much could it save you? → · map your coverage →