The AisaFENIX spectral imager for Unmanned Systems
SPECIM, Spectral Imaging, Ltd., global leader of Hyperspectral Instrumentation, announces the release of AisaFENIX, a robust and compact spectral imager for the most demanding field and airborne installations.
The most valuable feature of AisaFENIX is its ability to capture the highest quality hyperspectral data over VNIR, NIR, and SWIR wavelengths in a single continuous image. For the first time ever, the user is able to measure for every pixel a perfect spectrum from 380 nm to 2500 nm with up to 620 spectral bands, whatever the targets and the distances to the targets are.
The most prominent environmental, defence and law enforcement applications require high quality hyperspectral data at different wavelength ranges. Often, the more quality spectral information available, the more reliable the results are. This need has resulted in complicated and expensive systems, where two separate imagers have been mechanically co-aligned into a solid platform. The challenge with separate optical systems has been the nearly impossible task of achieving perfect pixel co-registration of the two images (VNIR and SWIR) when the distance to the target is changing.
“AisaFENIX eliminates all the past challenges in full spectrum imaging”, states Petri Nygrén, AISA Product Manager. “With the 620 optical bands, the data quality of the instrument is astonishing – the best spectral imaging data we have ever seen. SPECIM once again has been able to satisfy the market demands for a cost-efficient, high performance product; and at the same time set a completely new standard for size, weight and lack of complexity.”
AisaFENIX images the target in 380-2500 nm spectral region through single front optics and a single input slit, keeping all wavebands spatially co-registered independently of the distance to the target. AisaFENIX employs a patent pending “single optics dual channel” imaging spectrograph which, in spite of the single input slit, has two diffraction gratings, one optimized for VNIR and second for SWIR region. Additionally, two focal plane arrays (FPA), a state of the art CMOS and cryogenically cooled mercury cadmium telluride (MCT), are employed in order to maximize sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the VNIR and SWIR spectral regions. With two FPAs, different exposure times can be applied in the VNIR and SWIR regions in order to optimally adapt to various spectral illumination conditions. As the imaging spectrograph is extremely compact, AisaFENIX weighs less than 15 kg. This represents more than a 75 % reduction in weight and size when compared to a typical two camera setup.
The affordable cost level, together with the unique performance, makes AisaFENIX a revolutionary hyperspectral imager. Simplicity, reliability and performance in field usage transform AisaFENIX into a versatile tool for a wide range of applications, including:
- Detection of camouflaged targets and improvised explosive devices (IED) from ground vehicles and various airborne platforms, including turrets and UAVs,
- Detection of illicit/narcotic plants, and other law enforcement applications,
- Detection of invasive species and infected plants and trees
- Vegetation research and environmental monitoring
- Mineral mapping on drill cores and other geological samples
- Full object extraction of LiDAR point clouds
