Distributed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer for Force Protection

This proposal describes how a very low cost hyperspectral imager can be built. The key to the low cost is the use of a commercially available thermal camera based on an uncooled microbolometer as the detecting element. An interferometer is placed in front of the camera to produce the spectrum. Each frame of the camera captures one point of the interferogram, producing a hyperspectral image at 8cm-1 resolution in 15 seconds. The instantaneous field of view of the hyperspectral pixels are .1 by .1 degrees. The overall size of the image is 20 by 15 degrees. The instrument will be mounted on a pan and tilt to facilitate scanning large areas. In addition, to using the spectral signatures to identify chemical clouds, the imager can use the thermal signature to monitor aerosol in the atmosphere.