Telops Launches New Airborne Platform For Hyperspectral Imaging
By Ron Grunsby, Editor
Telops has released a new, single-sensor airborne platform for the Hyper-Cam, its field hyperspectral imaging sensor that can be used to map the ground or atmosphere and detect and identify any substance with a known infrared spectrum. The platform can accommodate either a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) or long-wave infrared (LWIR) sensor and houses an image compensation mirror that adjusts for aircraft displacement and angular pitch, roll, and yaw.
“The mirror compensates for the movement of the plane,” Marc-André Gagnon, Ph.D., product line manager at Telops, told me. “If the plane tilts, the Hyper-Cam continues looking at the same spot on the ground. It allows for good image quality while maintaining high spectral and spatial resolution at the same time.”
Applications for the new platform encompass the military, research, and environmental realms and include:
- Standoff chemical detection and identification
- Military target identification
- Detection of mines and improvised explosive devices
- Gas detection
- Gaseous cloud studies
- Atmospheric science
- Geology and mineralogy studies
- Pollution monitoring
- Leak detection
- Forest fire monitoring
“Geology identification will be a major interest,” Gagnon said. “A lot of work is done with hyperspectral imaging in geology, but usually with shortwave infrared [SWIR] or near-infrared [NIR] imaging. In this case, long-wave infrared imaging will be used. Different minerals can be tracked using long-wave infrared that are difficult to track using visible or shortwave infrared. People who map silicates, pyrites, and other minerals will find the long-wave infrared sensor will give them new information that was previously time-consuming and difficult to obtain. The airborne module will also benefit those concerned with surveillance and environmental monitoring, as the information-rich data provided by the Hyper-Cam will provide results over much larger areas.”
Telops already has an airborne platform that supports two sensors, but the new single-sensor version has its advantages. Because it is smaller and weighs less than the dual-sensor version, the single-sensor platform can be used on smaller aircraft. Plus, it’s easier to stabilize one sensor than two.