FLIR’s Ocean Scout Pro Wins DAME Design Award

FLIR has secured a top-tier honor at Metstrade, with its Ocean Scout Pro handheld thermal imaging camera winning the 2025 DAME Design Award in the Personal Equipment category. The award is a validation of the unit’s balance of cutting-edge thermal performance and practicality for both recreational boaters and maritime professionals.

The Ocean Scout Pro is the latest iteration in FLIR’s marine handheld monocular line. It leverages a 640 x 480 thermal detector to deliver substantial detection capability, up to 500 meters, while keeping the device compact and usable from the hand. The wide 32-degree field-of-view lens helps operators sweep horizon and close-range zones efficiently, crucial in low-visibility or night-time navigation.

One of the standout features is wireless streaming: users can send live thermal video to mobile devices via the Scout Pro app. Crew coordination is enhanced, because others on board can view what the operator sees in real time. The UI keeps things simple: one-touch controls adjust zoom, mode, brightness, and standby without burying the user in menus. Ergonomically, it is built to endure. The unit has an IP67 rating, can survive a two-meter drop, and its battery offers around six hours of use, recharged via USB-C or even from a power bank.

Its thermal palettes allow flexibility depending on conditions. White-hot and black-hot modes offer contrast suited for different targets; the heat palette highlights the warmest 10 percent of the scene, making people or animals stand out quickly; and a sepia tone helps reduce eye fatigue during prolonged night use.

FLIR’s engineering and design teams opted for resilience and ease of use, rather than pushing cost upward. The Ocean Scout Pro is backed by a five-year warranty and comes in a compact, MOLLE-compatible case. The jury at the DAME Awards described it as “a brilliantly designed iteration that takes FLIR’s handheld range to the next level.”

Gregoire Outters, FLIR Marine’s General Manager, reflected on the win, noting that this product aligns with FLIR’s mission to make advanced thermal imaging accessible to a broad range of mariners. He emphasized that being able to detect a person in the water, or other threats in darkness, can be the difference between a routine night and a life-or-death situation.

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