Radiometric and Geometric Analysis of Hyperspectral Imagery Acquired from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

TLDR

Low‑cost hyperspectral systems must acquire data suitable for quantitative scientific analysis to compete with larger manned‑aircraft platforms. The experiment aimed to validate the spectrometer’s radiometric calibration and assess the georegistration accuracy attainable with the UAV’s on‑board GPS and INS under operational conditions. In summer 2010, a UAV hyperspectral calibration and characterization experiment of the Resonon PIKA II imaging spectrometer was conducted at the Idaho National Laboratory UAV Research Park. The in‑flight calibration achieved absolute average agreements of 96.3 %, 93.7 %, and 85.7 % for calibration tarps of 56 %, 24 %, and 2.5 % reflectivity, respectively, and yielded a planimetric accuracy of 4.6 m (RMSE) at 344 m AGL.

Abstract

In the summer of 2010, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) hyperspectral calibration and characterization experiment of the Resonon PIKA II imaging spectrometer was conducted at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) UAV Research Park. The purpose of the experiment was to validate the radiometric calibration of the spectrometer and determine the georegistration accuracy achievable from the on-board global positioning system (GPS) and inertial navigation sensors (INS) under operational conditions. In order for low-cost hyperspectral systems to compete with larger systems flown on manned aircraft, they must be able to collect data suitable for quantitative scientific analysis. The results of the in-flight calibration experiment indicate an absolute average agreement of 96.3%, 93.7% and 85.7% for calibration tarps of 56%, 24%, and 2.5% reflectivity, respectively. The achieved planimetric accuracy was 4.6 m (based on RMSE) with a flying height of 344 m above ground level (AGL).