Headwall has released an airborne spectral imaging solution. The core element of the solution comprises Headwall's Micro-Hyperspec hyperspectral sensor, which is based on the company's aberration-corrected sensor design. The use of aberration-corrected diffractive optics, designed and manufactured by Headwall, allows the Micro-Hyperspec sensor to achieve very high signal-to-noise characteristics, a very wide field-of-view, and high spatial and spectral resolution.
Headwall engineers designed the hyperspectral airborne configuration to optimise configuration size, weight, and power (SWaP), which are each critical considerations for deployment on manned aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Elements of the solution include a GPS unit, a compact, lightweight Hyperspec Data Processing Unit, and airborne-specific hyperspectral software providing image acquisition, sensor control, and synchronisation for flight-plan efficiency. Every element of the solution is optimised for airborne use, in platforms ranging from small, hand-launched UAVs to fixed-wing aircraft and multi-rotor airframes.
Typical uses for hyperspectral sensing from airborne platforms include precision agriculture, oil and gas exploration, forestry management, and environmental monitoring.