The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is procuring Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance (ARCHER) systems to increase their search-and-rescue mission capability. These systems are being installed on a fleet of Gippsland GA-8 aircraft, and will position CAP to gain realworld mission experience with the application of hyperspectral sensor and processing technology to search and rescue. The ARCHER system design, data processing, and operational concept leverage several years of investment in hyperspectral technology research and airborne system demonstration programs by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Each ARCHER system consists of a NovaSol-designed, pushbroom, visible/near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensor, a co-boresighted visible panchromatic high-resolution imaging (HRI) sensor, and a CMIGITS-III GPS/INS unit in an integrated sensor assembly mounted inside the GA-8 cabin. ARCHER incorporates an on-board data processing system developed by Space Computer Corporation (SCC) to perform numerous real-time processing functions including data acquisition and recording, raw data correction, target detection, cueing and chipping, precision image geo-registration, and display and dissemination of image products and target cue information. A ground processing station is provided for post-flight data playback and analysis. This paper describes the requirements and architecture of the ARCHER system, with emphasis on data processor design, components, software, interfaces, and displays. Key sensor performance characteristics and real-time data processing features are discussed. The use of the system for detecting and geo-locating ground targets in real-time is demonstrated using test data collected in Southern California in the fall of 2004.
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is procuring Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance (ARCHER) systems to increase their search-and-rescue mission capability. These systems are being installed on a fleet of Gippsland GA-8 aircraft, and will position CAP to gain realworld mission experience with the application of hyperspectral sensor and processing technology to search and rescue. The ARCHER system design, data processing, and operational concept leverage several years of investment in hyperspectral technology research and airborne system demonstration programs by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Each ARCHER system consists of a NovaSol-designed, pushbroom, visible/near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensor, a co-boresighted visible panchromatic high-resolution imaging (HRI) sensor, and a CMIGITS-III GPS/INS unit in an integrated sensor assembly mounted inside the GA-8 cabin. ARCHER incorporates an on-board data processing system developed by Space Computer Corporation (SCC) to perform numerous real-time processing functions including data acquisition and recording, raw data correction, target detection, cueing and chipping, precision image geo-registration, and display and dissemination of image products and target cue information. A ground processing station is provided for post-flight data playback and analysis. This paper describes the requirements and architecture of the ARCHER system, including design, components, software, interfaces, and displays. Key sensor performance characteristics and real-time data processing features are discussed in detail. The use of the system for detecting and geo-locating ground targets in real-time is demonstrated using test data collected in Southern California in the fall of 2004.
The NVESD COMPASS instrument is an airborne dispersive hyperspectral imager that covers the VNIR through SWIR bands and incorporates a real-time data processing system. The processing system consists of a Data Processing Computer (DPC) and an Operator Display/Control Computer (ODC). The high-performance DPC executes real-time sensor calibration and multiple spectral detection algorithms on 13 G4-processors in a Race++ switched backplane. The DPC sends three-band pseudo-color hyperspectral data, high-resolution target chips, and GPS/INS data to the ODC. The ODC outputs a geo-registered display of HSI color imagery with detection cue overlays. The COMPASS detection algorithms, which are particularly well suited to CC&D targeting applications, include the SSRX spectral anomaly detector, the NFINDR/STD spectral unmixing-based anomaly detector, (3) a supervised spectral matched filter (SSMF), and (4) Healey's invariant subspace detector. The DPC airborne component is VME-based in a compact, ruggedized chassis. The COMPASS real-time processor is a second generation system based on NRL-sponsored WarHORSE demonstrations. This paper reviews the DPC system design, capabilities and performance.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Staring arrays, Spectrographs, Calibration, Land mines, Hyperspectral imaging, Imaging systems, Long wavelength infrared, Digital signal processing, Infrared imaging
The AHI (Airborne Hyperspectral Imager) system was designed to detect the presence of buried land mines from the air through detection of along wave IR observable associated with mine installation. The system is a helicopter-borne LWIR hyperspectral imager with real time on-board radiometric calibration and mine detection. It collects hyperspectral imagery from 7.5 to 11.5 μm in either 256 or 32 spectral bands. At all wavelengths the AHI noise equivalent delta (NEΔT) temperature is less than 0.1K at 300K and the NESR is less than .02 watts/m2-sr-μm.
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