NES Optica Talk by Headwall’s Dr. Carson Roberts on Applications of HSI & LiDAR from Small UAVs
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Hyperspectral imaging is a technology that fuses spectroscopy and imaging, generating rich data sets that can allow for classification of imagery based on spectral as well as spatial features. When combined with high accuracy GPS and LiDAR, and integrated onto a small UAV, it becomes possible to create geolocated imagery in 3D where each point is classified according to some spectral algorithm.
This talk will include an overview of push broom hyperspectral imaging, the process of calibrating and geolocating the collected data, and fusion of classified geolocated hyperspectral images with LiDAR point clouds. Examples will be shown of research projects in mine waste remediation using short wave infrared imaging and LiDAR, and of coral reef restoration using visible near-infrared imaging from a tripod as well as from a UAV launched from a small boat.
The talk will conclude with some analysis of the coral reef project in Geographical Information Systems software, where multiple layers of data can be accurately co-located to look for correlations between data from different sources.
Speakers Bio
Dr. Carson Roberts joined Headwall Photonics as a Senior Applications Engineer in 2015. At Headwall, he has worked on algorithms and hardware to integrate hyperspectral imagers into automated sorting and processing systems, and for the past several years has concentrated on hyperspectral and LiDAR systems for unmanned aerial vehicles. Before Headwall, he worked on hyperspectral imaging hardware and software at Bodkin Design and Engineering. He was Chief Scientist at Applied Optical Materials, Inc., where he developed processes and machinery for solar thermal pyrolysis of biomass. He did a post-Doc in computational neuroscience at Emory University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, developing and analyzing multicompartmental computer models of brain cells.
Dr. Roberts was CEO of a startup developing high-speed high voltage silicon carbide photoconductive switches, and a program manager at ZRL, building refrigerated computers and surface mount circuit boards. He also worked as a professor of Physics at Kenyon and Whitman colleges and at Miami University and has taught High School science.
He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University in 1994 for work on semiconductor device physics. He has peer-reviewed publications in Machine Vision, Spectral Geology, Semiconductor Device Physics and Neuroscience.
About NES Optica
The New England Section (NES) of Optica has served the Greater Boston area’s optics and photonics communities since 1949. We are a group of industry professionals and interested Headwallindividuals promoting the knowledge of optics, including applications and phenomena. The NES/OSA meets monthly from September to May, generally excluding December, on the third Thursday of each month. Our meetings include a social hour, dinner and talk. These meetings are open to all individuals while members receive the benefits of a monthly mailing, reduced meeting dinner price and voting privileges during council elections.
