Small hyperspectral imaging sensors yield critical information not available with digital video or thermal cameras.

As unmanned vehicles get smaller and smaller, operational expectations and mission objectives demand a much broader array of platform capabilities — a necessity even with reduced payloads requiring less weight, smaller size, and less power consumption. An interesting dichotomy exists between the need for increasing amounts of valuable information and the operational ability to capture and synthesize this information in real time.

Figure 1. Hyperspectral Image taken from UAV with targets highlighted. (Headwall Photonics, Inc.)