A Customisable Data Acquisition System for Open-Source Hyperspectral Imaging

Area of Science:

• Remote Sensing
• Environmental Monitoring
• Geospatial Technology

Background:

• Hyperspectral imagers are crucial for environmental studies across various disciplines.
• A gap exists in the market for self-contained, off-the-shelf data acquisition systems for compact hyperspectral imagers.
• Deploying hyperspectral sensors on platforms like drones requires integrated navigation capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a low-cost, lightweight, and deployable open-source data acquisition system for hyperspectral imagers.
• To enable concurrent collection of hyperspectral, navigation, and orientation data for direct georeferencing.
• To provide a cost-effective and accessible solution for remote sensing applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software.
• Designed a compact data acquisition device with a microcontroller, custom PCB, and Raspberry Pi/NVIDIA Jetson.
• Integrated ancillary navigation sensors for timestamped data collection.
• Demonstrated the system on a Matrice M600 drone, collecting parallel data streams.

Main Results:

• Successfully deployed an entirely open-source system for concurrent hyperspectral and navigation data collection.
• Achieved direct georeferencing of hyperspectral data using collected navigation and orientation information.
• The complete system, including the imager and housing, weighed only 735 g.
• The system proved easy to assemble, modify, and deploy.

Conclusions:

• The developed system offers a cost-effective and customizable solution for hyperspectral data acquisition.
• This open-source approach democratizes access to advanced remote sensing capabilities.
• The system facilitates direct georeferencing, enhancing the utility of hyperspectral data in environmental studies.