PORTABLE IMAGING SPECTRORADIOMETER FOR GROUND TRUTH & EARTH REMOTE SENSING

A NOVEL DESIGN FOR AN IMAGING SPECTRORADIOMETER FOR REMOTE-SENSING AND GROUND-TRUTH MEASUREMENTS IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT. BECAUSE NO DISPERSION ELEMENT WILL BE USED, THE SYSTEM WILL BE SMALL AND LIGHTER THAN COMMON SPECTROMETRIC SYSTEMS BY AS MUCH AS A FACTOR OF 1,000; IT WILL THUS BE PARTICULARLY APPROPRIATE FOR AIRBORNE APPLICATIONS AND PORTABLE USE. A PROPRIETARY ANAMORPHIC OPTICAL SYSTEM PRODUCES A RUGGED, PERMANENTLY ALIGNED SPECTRORADIOMETER THAT PROVIDES A CONTIGUOUS SPECTRUM WITH A RESOLVING POWER FROM SEVERAL HUNDREDS TO SEVERAL THOUSANDS. THE DEVICE MAY BE BUILT EITHER USING A SCANNING SYSTEM WITH A SINGLE ELEMENT OR LINE-ARRAY DETECTOR, OR USING A STARING-AREA DETECTOR. ACTUAL OPERATING SPECTRAL RESOLUTION IS CONTROLLED BY SOFTWARE AND MAY BE CHANGED IN REAL TIME. LARGE AREA ARRAYS PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SPATIAL RESOLUTION DOWN TO 1 METER. THE DESIGN IS BASED ON PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES, MAKING THIS A LOW-RISK, HIGH-PAYOFF DEVELOPMENT. PHASE I INCLUDES THE PREPARATION OF AN OPERATIONAL-AND PERFORMANCE-REQUIREMENTS LIST, THE DESIGN OF THE SPECTRORADIOMETER, AND THE PREPARATION OF A DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR PHASE II. PHASE II WILL CONSIST OF A DESIGN VERIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT BREADBOARD DEVICE, FOLLOWED BY A PROTOTYPE FABRICATION. A NOVEL DESIGN FOR AN IMAGING SPECTRORADIOMETER FOR REMOTE-SENSING AND GROUND-TRUTH MEASUREMENTS IS THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT. BECAUSE NO DISPERSION ELEMENT WILL BE USED, THE SYSTEM WILL BE SMALL AND LIGHTER THAN COMMON SPECTROMETRIC SYSTEMS BY AS MUCH AS A FACTOR OF 1,000; IT WILL THUS BE PARTICULARLY APPROPRIATE FOR AIRBORNE APPLICATIONS AND PORTABLE USE. A PROPRIETARY ANAMORPHIC OPTICAL SYSTEM PRODUCES A RUGGED, PERMANENTLY ALIGNED SPECTRORADIOMETER THAT PROVIDES A CONTIGUOUS SPECTRUM WITH A RESOLVING POWER FROM SEVERAL HUNDREDS TO SEVERAL THOUSANDS. THE DEVICE MAY BE BUILT EITHER USING A SCANNING SYSTEM WITH A SINGLE ELEMENT OR LINE-ARRAY DETECTOR, OR USING A STARING-AREA DETECTOR. ACTUAL OPERATING SPECTRAL RESOLUTION IS CONTROLLED BY SOFTWARE AND MAY BE CHANGED IN REAL TIME. LARGE AREA ARRAYS PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SPATIAL RESOLUTION DOWN TO 1 METER. THE DESIGN IS BASED ON PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES, MAKING THIS A LOW-RISK, HIGH-PAYOFF DEVELOPMENT. PHASE I INCLUDES THE PREPARATION OF AN OPERATIONAL-AND PERFORMANCE-REQUIREMENTS LIST, THE DESIGN OF THE SPECTRORADIOMETER, AND THE PREPARATION OF A DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR PHASE II. PHASE II WILL CONSIST OF A DESIGN VERIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT BREADBOARD DEVICE, FOLLOWED BY A PROTOTYPE FABRICATION.