Defense and information systems company Exelis Inc. has successfully tested a long-wave infrared (LWIR) hyperspectral (HSI) sensor that can detect dangerous chemicals and gases in different directions.
The sensor provides real-time information about the composition of gases and solids, according to MarketWatch. Such data is needed to find explosive devices as well as leaks coming from containers and pipelines used by gas, oil, chemical manufacturing and nuclear power industries.
"Customers are looking for reliable ways to locate and identify either naturally existing or man-made materials, some of which can be dangerous, illegal or items of interest that are not visible to traditional imaging cameras," said Dr. Minda Suchan, director of material identification at Exelis. "Using a LWIR HSI sensor would allow access to hard-to-reach areas and positively identify solids and gases critical to defense, civilian and commercial operations."
While hyperspectral imaging can have both commercial and military uses, there are limits with its equipment. In order to work with any accuracy at all, equipment must be cooled many degrees below freezing, Gizmag reported.
"We were able to overcome significant cooling requirements to ensure the sensor could collect usable data," Suchan said. "This opens up new uses for LWIR HSI systems, such as looking into denied areas, from high-altitude aircraft. The LWIR HSI sensor development, along with real-time analytical processing, solves customer-identified hard problems and is a key part of the company's strategic focus on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and analytics."
In order to get a good image of the target, most HSI sensors need to be mounted on aircraft so they can fly right over the destination. Exelis says the new system can work at different angles, which lets the sensor collect images pointing directly at the ground and across the horizon, MarketWatch reported.
The system can also fit in any mid-size and large manned or un-manned aircraft. It also allows for data to be collected without users being put in harm's way.
The company said the sensor has been tested in Rochester, N.Y. The tests involved placing different minerals and substances in the area, followed by the collection of data on the ground for processing. A real situation would be different because the data would be processed in real-time as the aircraft flew over the region, Gizmag reported.
Exelis said there will be more tests for the sensor.
