Visible, SWIR, and LWIR drone wide area coverage sensor systems

Abstract

Small unmanned aerial systems provide a versatile platform for covering large areas quickly. By adding sensors to drones, imagery of large areas can be taken for a variety of applications. Traditionally, single fixed staring systems or gimballed sensors are used to take this imagery. Both options require a compromise between field of view (FOV), resolution, scanning speed, and flight path to properly perform the desired task. If more than one sensor is integrated onto the drone, a wide FOV can be covered without a scanning gimbal and obtain higher resolution than a traditional wide FOV staring system. Presented is a multi-camera design approach based on a constraining ground sample distance for a wide area coverage (WAC) system. This design approach can be used for any imaging bands. A figure of merit (FoM) is derived to quantify and compare the performance of the WAC systems in the visible (0.4 to 0.7 μm), short wave infrared (1.0 to 1.7 μm), and longwave infrared (8 to 14 μm) for both good and bad visibility conditions. The performance of three optimized and fabricated WAC systems is compared and tested through the FoM and flight testing.