Hyperspectral imaging heads commercial

Multispectral imaging enables several discrete images in the visible and IR bands of the spectrum to be captured and processed. To capture continuous spectral bands from the ultraviolet to the far infrared, hyperspectral imaging is a powerful if often expensive imaging tool.

Hyperspectral remote-sensing applications have flourished for several decades. Now, low-cost imaging spectrometers are being introduced that allow innovative approaches to applications such as medical diagnostics, metallurgy, sorting materials, food processing, and microscopy.

We recently published an article by Rand Swanson at Resonon describing a compact hyperspectral imaging system that can be flown in a Cessna aircraft to monitor the spread of leafy spurge, an invasive weed that reduces grazing forage for livestock.



We’ve also reported on the use of hyperspectral imaging to detect the food pathogen Campylobacter and to sort walnuts.

A hyperspectral imaging microscopy system also allows detailed examination of LED structures in the visible and near-IR.



You can find more examples by searching our website. I expect to see numerous such articles in the future. For example, we’ll be describing a hyperspectral blueberry sorting system from EVK in Austria in our September issue.