Application relevant: hyperspectral imaging with multiple optical channels

The range of modern information technology led the end user to the World Conference Center Bonn last week for the AFCEA trade exhibition. Elbit Systems Deutschland GmbH from Ulm was one of the exhibitors. At the exhibition booth of Elbit Systems Deutschland, many things could be seen. Especially here were innovations with a focus on the highly demanded segments of electro-optics and radio communication.

wt took advantage of the presence of the Ulm-based supplier of demand-oriented product solutions for military and government customers to talk with representatives of the company about a new development from the electro-optics sector – SPECTRO™ CU – in detail. This is a hyperspectral payload that addresses an increasing demand, especially from military users – from unmanned ground and surface vehicles of maritime special forces to manned/unmanned aircraft systems of land and air forces.

The fact that the importance of modern electro-optics for military mission scenarios has lost none of its relevance made the German Elbit Systems subsidiary realize that the potential for new developments in the field of hyperspectral or multispectral imaging is far from exhausted. SPECTRO™ CU can make the invisible visible thanks to the combination of multiple optical channels with hyperspectral imaging techniques. Spatially and wavelength resolved detection in different electromagnetic ranges (spectrum) is used for this purpose.

Elbit SyFor this purpose, Elbit Systems Deutschland has substantial resources of engineers at its development, manufacturing and sales site in Ulm and expertise in the fields of optoelectronic systems, thermal imaging technology and image processing that has grown over many years.

Tomas Nützel, CEO of Elbit Systems Deutschland commented: 
“Especially in the field of electro-optical payloads we see potential with the German customer.” The ISTAR*) payload shown for the first time in Bonn by Elbit Systems Germany is the result of 20 years of development work in the field of hyperspectral imaging. Customized to the needs of military and government users, the new SPECTRO™ CU product solution can detect hazards early and handle highly dynamic scenarios. After all, when a spherical threat arises in a confrontation, forces must be equipped with improved reconnaissance technology to better protect them. To this end, the payload is equipped with a variety of digital imaging techniques, high-resolution sensors and advanced lasers.

SPECTRO™ CU thus belongs to the next generation of hyper- and multispectral electro-optical payload systems. The detection and identification of objects occurs in real time. Every target object, every material has a unique spectral signature. The fact that SPECTRO™ CU takes advantage of this fact means that target objects can be detected and identified without a doubt, even against sometimes difficult backgrounds. Thanks to innovative processing technology, the payload can calculate the unique spectral signature of each pixel. For this purpose, SPECTRO™ CU has an additional module that enables the detection of targets with spectral signatures in real time.

This is almost impossible to achieve with previous generations of devices. In short, a performance advantage that pays off in instantaneous threat detection and threat analysis. 

^*) ISTAR = Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance: The process of integrating the intelligence process with surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance tasks to improve a commander’s situational awareness and, consequently, decision making.