DJI recently unveiled DJI Dock 4, its first drone platform capable of automatically swapping batteries. The system is a complete package that includes the Matrice 5TD drone and the DJI O4 ground station.
The hardware is priced at 167,999 yuan (approximately £18,960), while software subscriptions, installation in non-standard environments, and other support services are billed separately. Preorders are already open through DJI’s official partners.
The standout feature of Dock 4 is its rapid battery swapping capability, which gets the drone back in the air quickly. According to DJI, the system can complete a battery swap within 25 seconds of landing, allowing the drone to take off again within 45 seconds. The drone remains powered on throughout the entire swap process, essentially eliminating the downtime caused by recharging between flights.
As for the drone itself, the Matrice 5TD offers up to 59 minutes of flight time on a single charge. Combined with the dock’s automatic battery swapping, the system dramatically shortens mission interruptions and keeps flight operations running continuously.
Dock 4 also supports what DJI calls an “open-and-fly” mode. In this mode, the drone can respond to alerts automatically without any manual piloting. DJI says the drone can reach an incident site before ground crews arrive and immediately send back aerial footage, helping teams quickly assess the situation.
Matrice 5TD Payload Capabilities
The Matrice 5TD integrates six sensor modules covering telephoto, infrared, laser rangefinding, and thermal imaging functions. With this setup, a single drone can handle a wide range of tasks, from daytime inspections and nighttime security to mapping, achieving a mapping accuracy of 10 centimeters at 12 megapixels.
Its 11x telephoto lens can clearly read license plates from 400 meters away and identify small defects such as bolts and pins from 100 meters away. The infrared camera works in tandem with the visible-light camera to display both the outline and the temperature distribution of a target at the same time, making potential problems easier to spot.
In addition, the drone’s 4K full-color camera can capture color video without an external spotlight, while a black-and-white mode with near-infrared illumination provides an alternative for low-light environments.
The Matrice 5TD supports up to three payload positions with a maximum payload of 450 grams, and each position can operate independently without interfering with the others. The airframe also carries a warning light with customizable colors and flashing patterns.
Intelligent Detection and Flight Safety
The Matrice 5TD can run AI models directly on the aircraft, identifying 17 types of objects in the live video feed, including vehicles, boats, and fireworks. Operators can also install third-party AI models to carry out more specialized survey tasks.
For obstacle avoidance, the drone combines three-directional millimeter-wave radar, a ring-scanning LiDAR, and a six-directional full-color vision system.
In terms of flight safety, it can take off and land normally in winds of up to 12 meters per second. Once wind speeds exceed that limit, the drone automatically returns home. A parachute also comes standard, supporting both automatic and manual deployment.