The demand for airborne remote sensing based on the Earth environment observation has been growing, motivated by the need to protect the Earth's environment. Attention has been focused on hyperspectral sensors as new type of Earth observation sensor for measuring the surface conditions from the air. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed an LCTF hyper-spectral imaging spectropolarimeter with selectable plane of polarization which senses radiation in the 400-720 nm visible light wavelength band, and has constructed an airborne optical observation system based on the sensor. Flight evaluation of this sensor using JAXA's Beechcraft 65 research airplane has been continuing over the past few years, and this paper first outlines this flight evaluation. Next, we report on current aerial observations of water contamination in the rivers or lakes and the growth stages of crops are shown, with spectral images taken at various wavelengths and polarization angles presented as the analyzed results of flight experiment data. The flight experiments have confirmed that spectral images of targets with differing characteristics do indeed show different spectropolarimetric properties. Plans for future flight evaluations are also described. Finally it is concluded that the way has been paved for applying the visible light sensor to airborne remote sensing, aiming at the determination of surface conditions.
Hyperspectral sensing opens up great possibilities for future remote sensing. In particular, high-resolution hyperspectral analysis will be an indispensable tool for agricultural applications, hydrodynamics and ocean physics, and polarimetric analysis of solar radiation reflected from rivers, lakes and marshes is expected to play an important role in environmental observation. In conventional multispectral analysis, detailed information has not been able to be used because each pixel includes much mixed spectral radiometric information, so it is difficult to obtain high classification accuracy in the analysis. To address this problem, the authors have been investigating some experimental analysis schemes using a hyperspectral imaging spectropolarimeter with selectable plane of polarization developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and these investigations have yielded some remarkable results in the observation of polluted water in laboratory models and field experiments. These results indicate the possibility of applying the imaging spectropolarimeter to wide area environmental observation. This paper describes preliminary experiments for detecting concentration of suspended solid in water using the hyperspectral imaging spectropolarimeter with multi-polarization. Several hyperspectral analysis schemes for detecting such water pollution and analysis results of the observation data are presented.
Polarimetric analysis of solar rays reflected from the Earth's surface is expected to play a particularly important role in future Earth environment observation, and an imaging liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) spectropolarimeter for the near-infrared wavelength band has been developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) over the past several years for such analysis. In order to realize the practical application of the optical sensor, efforts are currently under way to develop it into sensor package for airborne observation system. This paper first presents the concept and architecture of an optical observation system using an LCTF spectropolarimeter which is sensitive to radiation in the 650-1100 nm near-infrared wavelength band. The results of farm and grassland observations using a near-infrared LCTF imaging spectropolarimeter are then presented by spectral images of observed crop specimen and grass, and radiances of solar rays reflected from the crop and grass are shown. The results of a measurement of water-purity conducted using models of a ploughed and irrigated rice field are also presented by the spectral radiances of solar rays reflected from such field models. Finally, the applicability of the LCTF spectropolarimeter to agro-environment observation is summarized based on the results of these outdoor experiments.
The National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) has developed a new type of imaging spectropolarimeter that uses a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) which makes it possible to measure the optical properties of solar rays reflected from land and sea surfaces. The aim of this development is to pave the way for the establishment of polarimetric analysis of solar rays reflected from the Earth’s surface as a method of Earth environment observation. Two imaging LCTF spectropolarimeters that cover different wavelength bands have been developed: a visible light sensor for the 400-720 nm wavelength band, and a near-infrared sensor that covers the 650-1100 nm band. Efforts are now under way to apply these optical sensors to practical applications, for airborne and ultimately spaceborn Earth environment remote sensing. This paper first outlines the imaging optical sensors, including their operational principles and construction. Next, various spectral images acquired using the visible light optical sensor in outdoor field and flight evaluation experiments to measure spectral characteristics of solar rays reflected from land and water surfaces are shown. Then, the results of outdoor experiments conducted using the near-infrared optical sensor are shown, including the analyzed relative radiance of solar rays reflected from observed spots, and spectral images acquired at various wavelengths and polarization angles. These experimental results demonstrate clearly that solar rays reflected from targets with differing characteristics have different spectropolarimetric properties. Finally it is concluded that the way has been paved for determining surface conditions from the properties of the spectral images acquired by LCTF spectropolarimeters at wavelengths of 400-1100 nm.
Hyperspectral analysis of solar rays reflected from the Earth’s surface is expected to play an important role in future Earth observation. Two imaging liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) spectropolarimeters for the visible and near-infrared wavelength bands have been developed by NAL over the past several years for such analysis. In order to realize the practical application of these optical sensors, efforts are currently under way to develop them into sensor packages for airborne observation systems. This paper first presents the concept and architecture of an optical observation system using an LCTF spectropolarimeter which is sensitive to radiation in the 650-1100 nm near-infrared wavelength band, along with its construction. The results of a farm observation conducted using a visible wavelength LCTF imaging spectropolarimeter are then presented by the spectral images of the observed areas as an example of a preliminary application to agro-environmental sciences. The results of a second farm observation conducted using a near-infrared LCTF imaging spectropolarimeter are presented by spectral images of an observed crop specimen, and radiances of solar rays reflected from the specimen are also shown. Finally, the applicability of the LCTF spectropolarimeter to agriculture observation is summarized based on the results of these agricultural observations.
Polarimetric analysis of solar rays reflected from the Earth's surface is expected to play an important role in future Earth environment observation. Research on an imaging spectropolarimeter using a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF), which is able to measure the polarimetric properties at selected wavelengths of solar rays reflected from land or water surfaces, has been conducted over the past five years at NAL for such analysis. Efforts are now under way to put this sensor to practical use, for airborne and ultimately space-based Earth environment remote sensing.
This paper first presents the principle and construction of an LCTF spectropolarimeter which senses radiation in the 400-720 nm wavelength band. Next, an outline of an onboard observation system that incorporates an LCTF spectropolarimeter and its performance characteristics obtained by laboratory tests are presented. Third, the apparatus and procedures for the field experiment using such observation system are described, and the area for the field experiments is shown. Spectral characteristics of solar rays reflected from the observed spots are then shown by relative radiance as the analyzed results of experimental data and spectral images at various wavelengths and polarization angles are also shown as further analyzed results. It is made clear from the experimental results that solar rays reflected from targets with differing characteristics have different spectropolarimetric properties. Moreover, the result of the flight experiment conducted preliminarily to confirm the operational functions of the observation system in a flight environment is shown. Finally it is concluded that the way has been paved for determining the surface conditions from the properties of the images acquired by the LCTF spectropolarimeter.
The National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan has developed a new type of optical sensor, an imaging spectropolarimeter which uses a liquid crystal tunable filter, for airborne and satellite-based remote sensing of the Earth's environment. Ground-based field experiments conducted as a preliminary to flight evaluations have demonstrated the feasibility of acquiring spectral images of objects irradiated by solar rays, and confirmed that solar rays reflected from different targets have characteristic spectropolarimetric properties. This paper first presents an outline of the developed spectropolarimeter. Next, the apparatus and procedures for the field experiments are described. The spectropolarimetric characteristics of solar rays reflected from a range of targets are then shown by relative radiance as the results of analyzed experimental data, and spectral images acquired at various wavelengths and polarization angles are shown. Plans to evaluate the sensor in a flight environment are described. Possible applications of the optical sensor are also introduced: observation of water quality deterioration in brackish lakes, applications to agro-environmental science, and applicability to a fish-finding system. Finally, it is concluded that results of the field experiments demonstrate that the way has been paved for determining surface characteristics from the optical sensor output.
There is an emerging demand for remote sensing technologies that can determine the surface characteristics of objects from the properties of reflected light. In particular, hyperspectral analysis of solar rays reflected from the Earth's surface is expected to play an increasingly important role in Earth environment observation. The National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) has developed a new type of imaging spectropolarimeter for such analysis that uses a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF), and efforts are now under way to develop it into a practical aircraft or spacecraft on-board sensor system for Earth environment sensing. This paper first presents the concept and architecture of an Earth observation system using an LCTF optical sensor which can sense radiation in the 400-720 nm wavelength band. The results of laboratory experiments to evaluate the performance characteristics of the observation system, e.g. hyperspectral resolution, optional selection of the plane of polarization, etc. are then presented, and the results of preliminary image acquisition experiments that demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring of spectral images is also shown. Finally, the applicability of the LCTF spectropolarimeter to Earth observation is summarized based on the results of the laboratory and field evaluation experiments.
This paper proposes a geographical information system for terrain and obstacle awareness and alerting that extracts information from high-resolution satellite images. On-board terrain elevation databases are being increasingly used in aircraft terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS), offering a step change in capability from the radar altimeter-based ground proximity warning system. However, to enhance the safety of flight of small aircraft and helicopters, in addition to pure topographic information a TAWS database should also contain significant man-made obstacles that present a collision hazard, such tall buildings and chimneys, communications masts and electrical power transmission lines. Another issue is keeping the terrain and obstacle database current, reflecting changes to features over time. High-resolution stereoscopic images remotely sensed from Earth orbit have great potential for addressing these issues. In this paper, some critical items are discussed and effective information processing schemes for extracting information relevant to flight safety from satellite images are proposed.
Various methods, techniques and sensors for Earth observation are being developed worldwide as the necessity of protecting the Earth's environment increases. In particular, polarimetric analysis of solar rays reflected from the Earth's surface is expected to play an important role in future Earth environment observation. A new type of spectro-polarimeter based on a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) has been developed at NAL for such analysis. Efforts are now under way to put this sensor to practical use in airborne or satellite-based remote sensing of the Earth's environment by developing a sensor package and onboard observation system based around it. This paper first presents the operational principle and construction of the LCTF spectro-polarimeter, which captures images in the 400 - 720 nm wavelength band. Next, an outline of an onboard observation system incorporating the spectro-polarimeter is described and its applicability to airborne remote sensing discussed. The performance of the observation system is then shown based on experimental results. Other possible applications of the sensor are presented, and finally, the results of the evaluation of the observation system, e.g. hyper-spectral resolution of less than 10 nm, are summarized in the conclusion.
An automatic accurate recognition scheme for large-scale structures such as ocean currents, eddies and water masses is an essential technology for extracting environmental information and fishing resource. In this paper, new autonomous recognition schemes based on knowledge-base approaches are derived. And a fundamental scheme for enabling processing to be carried out by small-scale computer architectures is developed. These schemes can greatly reduce the amount of data required to describe large-scale structures like ocean eddies and/or ocean currents, and are therefore expected to be very useful for the autonomous on-orbit processing of ocean observation data. Some applications of the schemes to the recognition of moving shapes in noisy images remotely sensed from Earth orbits are also presented with evaluative experimental results.
As part of the ADEOS CAL/VAL program, the authors have studied how to accurately estimate the system spatial resolution characteristics of the Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer (AVNIR) in Earth orbit. This report summarizes our study effort for estimating system PSF/MTF characteristics of the AVNIR sensor after launch. Scene structures of a sharp knife-edge with step targets were used with estimation experiments to predict the resolution of the AVNIR sensor. Finding optimal candidate target sites from a display of profiles for the gray level from Earth observation images taken by the AVNIR sensor is very difficult, error-prone and tedious work. Using a newly developed automatic target detection method, we looked for many near-optimal sharp knife edges with step targets in AVNIR operational images. In the data analysis experiments, two estimation methods, the frequency domain method (Fourier transform techniques) and the spatial domain method (spatial convolution techniques), were applied to subscenes of the AVNIR imagery from target sites selected above. The effect of atmospheric degradation was also investigated using atmospheric corrected observation data of the same target sites. The computational results of these methods agree relatively well. AVNIR's estimated spatial resolution for the atmospheric compensation data cases seemed reasonable with respect to design and prelaunch parameters.
A system for analyzing remotely-sensed satellite images using knowledge bases driven by multi-stage inference engines has been developed. Sea-surface temperature analysis is thought to have great potential for effectively identifying the positions and shapes of oceanic conditions such as ocean fronts, eddies, currents, and so on. Knowledge and experience accumulated through conventional oceanic observation by ships and other methods are indispensable when extracting such oceanic conditions from remotely-sensed data, and the extraction process requires the efforts of human experts. This paper discusses some useful strategies for dealing with the problems of automatic extraction of oceanic conditions, including a mechanism for selecting individual algorithms and automatically constructing a sequence of image processing commands, a scheme for verifying consistency between knowledge rules, and a scheme for the intensive accumulation of knowledge information. In addition, this paper presents some experimental applications to remotely-sensed ocean image data which have been performed highly efficiently. The resulting extracted ocean fronts and currents have been successfully verified using oceanographic surveys.
Two methods for estimating overall system resolution characteristics of the AVNIR sensor system have been investigated: The frequency domain method (Fourier transform techniques) and the spatial domain method (spatial convolution techniques). Several factors affecting estimation accuracy of the spatial characteristics method were investigated using numerical simulations. Scene structures of a knife-edge target with step edges were used with a numerical estimation procedure to predict resolution performance in advanced Earth observing satellite (ADEOS) advanced visible and near-infrared radiometer (AVNIR) imagery. The results of both methods agree closely. An effective IFOV of about 20 meters was estimated from preliminary estimation experiments for AVNIR Mu bands.
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