New Sensor Payload for Unmanned and Manned Aircraft

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Headwall Photonics Inc. in the U.S. is introducing the Micro-Hyperspec integrated airborne hyperspectral electro-optical sensor for manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

According to Military & Aerospace, typical uses for hyperspectral electro-optical sensing from aircraft include; precision agriculture, oil and gas exploration, forestry management, and environmental monitoring.

The core element comprises Headwall’s Micro-Hyperspec hyperspectral sensor, which is based on the company’s patented aberration-corrected sensor design. Aberration-corrected diffractive optics enables the sensor to achieve performance, high signal-to-noise characteristics, wide field-of-view, and high spatial and spectral resolution, company officials say.

IHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Headwall engineers designed the hyperspectral airborne configuration to optimize configuration size, weight, and power (SWaP). Elements include a GPS unit, a compact, lightweight Hyperspec data processing unit, and airborne-specific hyperspectral software providing image acquisition, sensor control, and synchronization for flight-plan efficiency.

Every element is optimized for airborne use, in platforms ranging from small, hand-launched UAVs to fixed-wing aircraft and multi-rotor airframes.