Design goals and solutions for display of hyperspectral images

Abstract

Design goals and solutions are proposed for the display of hyperspectral imagery on tristimulus displays. The requirements of a hyperspectral visualization depend on the task. We focus on creating consistent representations of hyperspectral data that can facilitate understanding and analysis of hyperspectral scenes, and may be used in conjunction with task-specific visualizations. Fixed linear spectral weighting envelopes are given, creating natural-looking imagery where hue, brightness, saturation, and whitepoint have meanings consistent with the human visual system interpretation of natural scenes. For Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer images, hue interpretation of water and vegetation is also preserved. The proposed designs avoid the preattentive distractions of principal component analysis imagery, and appear to provide comparable or enhanced spectral and edge discriminability.