Ximea and imec co-operate to commercialise miniature hyperspectral imaging camera
Most cameras have developed around the requirement to imitate human vision, and to provide a signal set that can be used to reproduce images/video in as near to the human experience as possible; hence they use red/green/blue sensors and (approximately) confine their range to that of the eye.
Neither is mandated when capturing visual information; the spectrum can be captured in narrower bands, not confined to the three of RGB; and they can extend into the ultraviolet or infrared. This happens in nature – it is established that birds and insects have a very different view of the world to humans, and derive information not available to us.
Hyperspectral imaging does exactly that, using sensors that have responses at selected wavelengths, and filters that select narrow spectral bands. Such cameras can tap new sources of information on agriculture – such as crop growth and health – or natural resources surveying. As such, they can be carried on vehicles such as UAVs (‘drones’) so weight and power are critical. Imec has been developing technology in which this capability is effected by nanoscale processing, at wafer level. This brings all the potential of integration and miniaturisation to the design of such cameras. Exceptional interoperability between camera and sensor’s technology streamlined the success of the integration with the Ximea platform.
Ximea is now incorporating imec HSI sensors into its 27-grams compact XiQ cameras.
“Combining imec’s hyperspectral sensor with Ximea’s compact xiQ cameras is a new milestone for us. The high-speed USB3.0 interface includes power supply over USB that removes the need for expensive and bulky frame-grabbers and separate power supplies. It will enable our partners to design and mass-produce extremely compact hyperspectral imaging camera solutions” stated Andy Lambrechts, program manager for imaging & vision systems at imec.
By applying narrow-band spectral filters at pixel-level using semiconductor thin-film processing, imec’s technology enables hyperspectral image sensor solutions with extreme compactness, low weight, high reliability and proven capabilities to be mass produced at low cost in volume. This is in contrast to earlier solutions that relied on applying external filtering to existing broadband sensors. Three types of standard spectral image sensor designs are today available: 100 bands linescan design, 32 bands snapshot tiled design, and a new snapshot mosaic design featuring 16 bands in a matrix of 4×4 per-pixel filters.
Ximea coupled imec’s hyperspectral sensors to its xiQ camera product line to configure a very small form factor with a specification unobtainable today for the hyperspectral imaging space: xiQ cameras feature 26.4 x 26.4 x 21.6 mm total dimension and weight of 27 grams, positioned as the world’s smallest industrial USB3 Vision and hyperspectral imaging camera. XIMEA achieves this ultra-compact footprint by using a single planar rigid board construction as opposed to competing multi-board and multifold flexi-rigid PCB construction, making the xiQ easier to integrate into specialised equipment and OEM designs. XiQ cameras consume only 1.8W, easing the power and thermal management design challenges of UAVs for example.
“Hyperspectral imaging is not new in the world of high-end remote sensing instruments such as satellites and airborne systems. We are excited by this new partnership with Ximea as it will bring this unique technology into the hands of the numerous drone and UAVs companies that want to fly compact multispectral / hyperspectral imaging cameras to serve the emerging precision farming industry” added Jerome Baron, Business development manager of imec’s imaging activities.
According to Max Larin, CEO of Ximea, “This cooperation effectively presents the smallest, lightest, least power consuming and most cost effective solution in hyperspectral field today”.
Ximea; www.ximea.com
imec; www.imec.be
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
