A Compact, Low Cost, Broad Range, Hyperspectral Imager for Precision Agriculture

Hyperspectral imagery produces images that include colors both within and beyond the range of colors that can be seen by the human eye. Hyperspectral Imagery allows for the classification, identification, and detection of vegetation phenomena that relate to the agricultural industry, including: plant species identification, insect and disease detection and monitoring, stress detection, soil quality, and vegetative health information that are key to effective precision agriculture. Existing hardware used for hyperspectral imaging is restricted to a few narrow spectral bands or "colors" of light which provide minimal information, or is very large/costly and only available to high end user applications (satellite imaging, etc.) There is a need within the agricultural industry for a wide spectral bandwidth (350-2500 nm) measurement system that is also low cost and compact enough to be more available for a wide range of use cases by agronomics stakeholders. Ideally, such hardware would be compact and rugged enough to the used on a range of platforms (low cost UAV, farm equipment, and fixed installation).Sporian anticipates development of a compact, low-cost, broad range, hyperspectral imager capable of high spatial and temporal resolution monitoring and characterization of soil, water content, and condition and health indicators of plants and crops. Final hardware will be compact, and rugged enough to the used on a range of industry relevant platforms. Such a technology will enhance the efficiency and profitability of crop production, and through accurate detection at the earliest stages of their manifestations, reduce the impact of plant pathogens, insect pests, or abiotic stressors. Through direct point of use, or through agricultural services providers, this device could help insure food security for approximately 2 million farms in the United States. For example, it is estimated that in the United States alone, crop losses due to plant pathogens are about 33 billion dollars each year. The cost of putting the proposed technology in the hands of all farmers in the US would be ~$10 billion, and lower if instead sold to the smaller number of agricultural/agronomist service providers. The agriculture industry is the prime commercial opportunity due to concerns for nutrients, water-stress, disease, pests and overall plant health, but the proposed hyperspectral imaging technology would be attractive for other industries as well, including the oil & gas and mining industries.