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 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 4cm-1 resolution in 40 seconds. By moving the mirrors of the interferometer to the equidistant position, the camera can work ing its normal mode. The instantaneous field of view of the hyperspectral pixels are .1 by .1 degrees. The overall size of the image is 36 by 27 degrees. The instrument will be mounted on a pan and tilt to facilitate scanning large areas.