Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imaging

Introduction to Hyperspectral and Multispectral Cameras

Hyperspectral Camera acquires a 2D image where every pixel in the image contains a continuous spectrum. A regular camera records three spectral channels in every pixel (red, green, and blue), while hyperspectral imagers record hundreds of spectral channels.

Hyperspectral and Multispectral Cameras are useful because different materials have unique reflectance spectra, as do different plant species. Hyperspectral images can thus be used to identify various constituents in an image. Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imaging is also used to detect shifts in reflectance spectra due to external influences, for example crop health effects due to drought and insect infestation.