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Hyperspectral Sensors for Military Applications

R. Richter
DLR, German Aerospace Center
Remote Sensing Data Center
D-82234 Wessling
GERMANY

ABSTRACT
This paper discusses issues related to the use of hyperspectral sensors. Key issues for interpretation
are spectral databases of natural backgrounds and military targets as well as the accurate calibration
and atmospheric correction. A typical application is presented and future developments are outlined.

1. INTRODUCTION
Currently, airborne hyperspectral remote sensing has a 20 year history starting with the Airborne
Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) in 1985. The hyperspectral imaging spectrometers evolved from the
multispectral instruments. Multispectral instruments typically have about 10 spectral bands with
bandwidths between 50 - 200 nm and spectral gaps, typical representatives are Landsat TM
(spaceborne, 7 bands) and Daedalus AADS1268 (airborne, 11 bands). Hyperspectral sensors typically
have 100 - 300 bands with bandwidths of 2 - 20 nm, and a continuous coverage of large spectral
regions (Gower et al. 1992, Vane et al. 1993, Cocks et al. 1998). Table 1 contains a list of the early
first hyperspectral instruments (1985-1989) and some later developments.

Name Year Country sp. bands FWHM (nm)

range(m)
AIS 1985 USA 0.7 - 2.5 128 10
FLI 1987 Canada 0.4 - 1.0 288 2.5
AVIRIS 1989 USA 0.4 - 2.5 224 10
CASI 1989 Canada 0.4 - 1.0 288 3
SFSI 1993 Canada 1.2 - 2.4 122 10
HyMap 1998 Australia 0.4 - 2.5 128 15
ARES 2005 Australia 0.4 - 2.5 128 15
8 - 12 32 130

Table 1: Hyperspectral airborne instruments.

With imaging hyperspectral sensors each pixel has an associated continuous spectrum that can be used
to identify surface materials, quantify material constituents (unmixing) and perform a sub-pixel
analysis (unmixing). For military applications the target / background discrimination is an important
issue where improvements can be achieved with hyperspectral techniques.

2. REQUIREMENTS
The requirements for a successful operation of hyperspectral imaging sensors are the compilation of
spectral databases containing natural and artificial targets. Some of these databases are publicly

Richter, R. (2005) Hyperspectral Sensors for Military Applications. In Emerging EO Phenomenology (pp. KN1-1 KN1-4). Meeting
Proceedings RTO-MP-SET-094, Keynote 1. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: RTO. Available from: http://www.rto.nato.int/abstracts.asp.

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Hyperspectral Sensors for Military Applications

available, e.g. from the USGS, John Hopkins University (JHU), whereas the military databases are
classified. A second requirement is the application of a radiative transfer code to be able to convert
from at-sensor radiance or scaled digital numbers to surface reflectance or emissivity. Depending on
the spectral resolution, MODTRAN or FASCODE are commonly employed (Berk et al. 2000,
http://www.ontar.com). The third important topic is the spectral and radiometric calibration of the
sensor. For use with geographic information systems the geocoding/orthorectification is essential. Fig.
1 shows a sketch of the radiation components of the atmosphere, the reflected and emitted surface
radiance and the basic sensor components. Fig. 2 summarizes the processing chain from level 0 data to
level 2.

Fig. 1 Radiation components and sensor elements.

Fig. 2 Processing chain.

The target / background discrimination can be performed with a variety of methods, exploring the full
spectral space or using compression algorithms (PCA, MNF). In addition, physical and statistical
models are commonly used for background suppression. A popular method is the matched filter
concept which can be calculated based on the covariance matrix. The concept has been used
extensively in information and signal processing (Turin 1975, Poor, 1983).

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Hyperspectral Sensors for Military Applications

3. EXAMPLE
Figure 3 shows an example of AVIRIS data with an airfield locating several small aircrafts. The targets
were identified with a matched filter for the blue paint spectrum at the bottom of the figure (source:
http://www.rsinc.com/envi/mil_intel_story2.asp).

...

Fig. 3 Detection of aircraft with a matched filter approach.

4. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
Except for the experimental Hyperion no commercially available hyperspectral data is currently
available from space. However, several countries are planning spaceborne hyperspectral missions. A

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Hyperspectral Sensors for Military Applications

further ambitious step will be the operation of ultraspectral instruments with a spectral bandwidth
smaller than 1 nm and channel numbers around 1000 enabling trace gas detection and quantification.
An example of a ground-based FTS spectrum in the thermal region is presented in Fig. 4 showing a
number of narrow ozone spectral features.

Fig. 4 Ground based Fourier Transform Absorption Spectroscopy.

REFERENCES

Berk, A., Anderson, G. P., Acharya, P: K., Chetwynd, J. H., Bernstein, L. S., Shettle, E. P., Matthew, M.
W., and Adler-Golden, S. M., 2000, MODTRAN4 Users Manual", Air Force Research Laboratory,
Hanscom AFB, MA, U.S.A.
Cocks, T., Jenssen, R., Stewart, A., Wilson, I., and Shields, T., 1998, "The HyMap airborne hyperspectral
sensor: the system, calibration and performance", First EARSeL Workshop on Imaging Spectroscopy, 6-8
Oct. 1998, Zurich, Switzerland, pp. 37-42.
Gower, J. F. R., Borstad, G. A., Anger, C. D., and Edel, H.R., 1992, "CCD-based imaging spectroscopy
for remote sensing: the FLI and CASI programs", Canadian J. Remote Sensing, Vol. 18, 199-208.
Poor, H. V., 1983, "Robust matched filters", IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, IT-29, 677-687.
Turin, G. L., 1975, "Minimax strategies for matched-filter detection", IEEE Transactions on
Communications, COM-23, 1370-1371.
Vane G., and Goetz, A. F. H., 1993, "Terrestrial imaging Spectrometry: current status, future trends",
Remote Sensing Environment, Vol. 44, 117-126.

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