Spectral and Polarimetric Imagery Collection Experiment

• Main Authors: Romano, Joao M, Rosario, Dalton, Felton, Melvin, Farley, Vincent, Chenault, David, Sohr, Brian
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS; AUTOMATION; AUTONOMOUS DATA ACQUISITION; Cybernetics; DATA ACQUISITION; DATA BASES; GROUND TRUTH INFORMATION; HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGERY; INFRARED IMAGES; Optical Detection and Detectors; POLARIMETRY; SIGNATURE VARIABILITY; SPECTRUM SIGNATURES; SPICE(SPECTRAL AND POLARIMETRIC IMAGERY COLLECTION EXPERIMENT); Target Direction, Range and Position Finding; TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT; TEST FACILITIES; Test Facilities, Equipment and Methods

The Spectral and Polarimetric Imagery Collection Experiment (SPICE) is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory that is focused on the collection of mid-wave and long-wave infrared imagery using hyperspectral, polarimetric, and broadband sensors. The objective of the program is to collect a comprehensive database of the different modalities over the course of 1 to 2 yrs to capture sensor performance over a wide variety of adverse weather conditions, diurnal, and seasonal changes inherent to ARDEC s northern New Jersey location. Using the Precision Armaments Laboratory tower at ARDEC, the sensors will autonomously collect the desired data around the clock at different ranges where surrogate 2S3 self-propelled howitzer targets will be positioned at different viewing perspectives in an open field at 549 and 1280 m from the sensor location. As a result, this database will allow for (1) evaluation of hyperspectral and polarimetric technologies, (2) development of new sensors, (3) development of robust algorithms, (4) understanding of signature variability under the different weather conditions, and (5) evaluation of fusing the different sensor modalities. In this report, we will present the SPICE data collection objectives, the ongoing effort, the sensors that are currently deployed, and how this work will assist researches on the development and evaluation of sensors, algorithm, and fusion applications. Prepared in collaboration with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD; Telops Inc. Quebec, Quebec, Canada; Polaris Sensor Technologies, Inc., Huntsville, AL; and Invoke Corp., Woodbridge, VA. The original document contains color images.