Hyperspectral imaging: Future applications in security systems

The idea behind hyperspectral imagers (HSI) is to generate an image with hundreds of contiguous narrow channels, the so-called spectral bands. As each material has a specific spectral signature, robust detection and classification of specific materials is now achievable. Spectra can be characterized by narrow features in their signatures that broadband and multispectral cameras cannot resolve. As a result of technical progress, new HSI with higher spatial resolution and better signal-to-noise ratios have been developed. Additionally, it is possible to buy small HSI that weigh less than 1 kg, which opens up new applications in surveillance and monitoring with unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Despite the capabilities of hyperspectral data evaluation, HSI is applied to surprisingly few tasks. This is a result of the sheer amount of recorded data that needs to be analyzed and the complex data pre-processing when the sensors are not used in a controlled environment. Also, extensive research is required to find the most efficient solution for a given task. The goal of this letter is to introduce and compare the different sensor techniques, discuss potential use for applications in civil security and give an outlook of future challenges.