EXCERPT
Companies such as Headwall, founded in 2003, specialized initially in laboratory-scale instruments for hyperspectral imaging — developing tools for spectroscopic analyses of material and chemical properties of samples by scanning large swaths of the visible and infrared spectrum.
“Around 10 years ago, we really started to recognize this inflection point where you have large spectrometers, computers, and data-processing systems all starting to miniaturize,” [says David Blair, vice president and general manager of remote sensing at Headwall Photonics]. Today, the company has downscaled commercial hyperspectral imaging sensors to a power-efficient 4-kg package roughly the size of a toaster.
Hyperspectral sensing is more expensive to deploy, but it adds value in terms of its versatility, according to Blair, which can give it a potential edge in settings such as agricultural research or geological exploration.
“A single multispectral few-band sensor can’t adapt if the environment changes,” he said. “Elements that show up and decline and transform are areas where we would rather focus.” These can include processes such as crop disease onset, changes in ecosystem(s) that are occurring over time, and water quality assessment.
Additional specialized instruments that are carving out a niche in the drone-based sensing market include UAV-borne infrared-sensitive thermal cameras. These devices are proving to be popular in military and public safety contexts as well as wildlife monitoring efforts. In these cases, the goal is to unobtrusively collect information about people or animals on the ground. The use of aerial magnetometric analysis is also expanding for geological surveys, including exploration for mineral wealth and the discovery and profiling of archaeological sites.
