Hyperspectral SWIR sensors from Headwall selected for U.S. Navy UAVs

May 7, 2012
Fitchburg, MA--High Efficiency Hyperspec SWIR sensors from Headwall Photonics were selected for airborne applications by the U.S. Navy.

Fitchburg, MA--High Efficiency Hyperspec SWIR (Short-wave, Infrared) sensors from Headwall Photonics, designer and manufacturer of hyperspectral imaging sensors, were selected for airborne applications by the U.S. Navy. With a spectral range from 950 to 2500 nm, the hyperspectral sensors underwent rigorous performance testing at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to establish reliable hyperspectral sensor payloads for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Headwall says that hyperspectral imaging is a critical sensing technology that identifies an object within the field of view of the sensor based on the target's chemical "fingerprint" or spectral signature rather than relying solely on visual appearance. Based on a patented sensor design, Headwall’s High Efficiency Hyperspec sensors are specifically designed for high spectral and spatial imaging in very harsh airborne operating environments, and are optimized for high signal-to-noise performance and light in weight for airborne deployment.

The Headwall High Efficiency Hyperspec SWIR sensor recently passed a very demanding set of hyperspectral performance tests instituted by the program team at NRL to ensure that the sensor would meet technical objectives. Specific tests were devised for spectral resolution, spatial resolution, and MTF performance.

"We are excited that NRL selected the High Efficiency Hyperspec platform for their airborne program," said David Bannon, CEO of Headwall Photonics. "Our hyperspectral sensor platform has played a key role at NRL for quite a few years nowranging from the deployment of the NRL Ocean PHILLS sensor to the Navy’s Project Warhorse to more recent deployments."

Headwall's High Efficiency Hyperspec sensors are common off-the-shelf (COTS) products available in the following spectral regions: UV 250-600 nm; VNIR 380-1000 nm; extended VNIR 550-1700 nm; NIR 900-1700 nm; and SWIR 950-2500 nm, with information on MWIR and LWIR models available on request.

SOURCE: Headwall Photonics; www.headwallphotonics.com/press-releases/press-releases-blog/bid/141725/High-Efficiency-Hyperspec-SWIR-Sensor-Selected-by-U-S-Navy

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.

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