Hyperspectral scanner
View Patent ↗The present invention provides a scanning system including a chamber configured for receiving reflected light from an object. The chamber includes a first prism and a second prism configured for refracting the reflected light, at least one beam splitter configured for splitting the reflected light into a first beam and a second beam, a camera configured for receiving the first beam so as to provide images of the object, a condenser lens configured for condensing the second beam, and a spectrometer configured for receiving the condensed second beam and provide a spectrum analysis of the second beam. The system further includes a particular computer configured to combine the images of the object produced by the camera with the spectrum analysis produced by the spectrometer to provide a hyperspectral image.
1. A scanning system comprising:
a chamber configured for receiving reflected light from an object, said chamber comprising
a first prism and a second prism configured for refracting said reflected light;
at least one beam splitter configured for splitting said reflected light into a first beam and a second beam;
a camera configured for receiving said first beam so as to provide images of said object;
a condenser lens configured for condensing said second beam; and,
a spectrometer configured for receiving the condensed second beam and provide a spectrum analysis of said second beam;
a controller; and
a particular computer;
wherein
(a) the controller executes a movement of the first and second prisms in accordance with a scanning plan stored on the computer,
(b) the system is calibrated to correct for transmission losses such that a measurement at a point (θ, Ω, Z) is corrected according to a formula Î(θ, Ω, Z)=F (I measure (θ, Ω, Z)), wherein Î(θ, Ω, Z) is an estimator of radiation, T(θ, Ω, Z) is a system transmission, and I measure (θ, Ω, Z) is a system measurement in that point; and
(c) the particular computer is configured to process information comprising the scanning plan, prism motion feedback from the controller, said images, and said spectrum analysis to provide a hyperspectral image cube.
2. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising a sensor for measuring a distance from said object.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein, said sensor is a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein, said light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor provides a range map.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein, said camera is an RGB camera.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein, said spectrometer is a point spectrometer.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein, said first prism and said second prism are each connected to a rotating mechanism to allow an individual rotation of each prism around its axis.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein, said rotating mechanism is operated manually.
9. The system of claim 7 wherein, said rotating mechanism is operated by the controller.
10. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising a filter configured for limiting illumination.
11. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising an integral radiation meter configured for monitoring radiation from external sources.
12. The system of claim 1 wherein, said system is mounted on one of a tripod, a post, and a tower.
13. The system of claim 1 wherein, said system is mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
14. The system of claim 13 wherein, said system is stabilized by a gimbal set to prevent hovering errors.
15. The system of claim 1 wherein, said camera and said spectrometer are aligned so as to allow accurate identification of an exact location of spectrometer's measurements in the image cube.