PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF AN INTEGRATED HYPERSPECTRAL SENSOR FOR CIVIL APPLICATIONS ON UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAV)

The paper deals with the analysis of the performance parameters of a hyperspectral sensor integrated in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). In particular, the paper investigates the integration of a specific hyperspectral sensor, called Sphyder®, in a Medium Altitude Medium Endurance (MAME) UAV, called Falco. Both the hyperspectral sensor and the MAME UAV are produced by SelexES. As a first step, a state-of-art analysis is performed, in order to understand the readiness level of the hyperspectral technology, looking, in particular, at its recent missions applications in space and aeronautics systems. Moreover, this preliminary analysis highlights the relationships between the sensor’s technical parameters, the performance characteristics of the aircraft as well as the mission and system requirements and constraints. Indeed, it is clear that the acquisition of images with a well-defined resolution is possible if the aircraft flies over the target area with a determined flight altitude and cruise speed. These flight parameters shall be evaluated taking into account the stakeholder’s needs together with the physical characteristics of the sensor, like the Instantaneous Field Of View (IFOV) or the maximum Frame Rate (FR). In order to analyse this complex system, a Matlab® code able to evaluate different flight plans for an integrated platform consisting of a hyperspectral sensor and an aircraft has been generated. The users may insert, as input parameters, all the characteristic features of both components. The program can thus be used either to simulate existing platforms or to evaluate possible future integrations of under-development solutions. Furthermore, the users can choose between different missions, with the possibility of verifying the feasibility of the best endurance or the best range flight plans. The article reports a specific application of this tool for the above-mentioned platform, the Sphyder® hyperspectral sensor and the MAME UAV Falco. This platform is currently under development and it has recently been considered within an Italian Research Project, SMAT-F2 (Advanced Territory Monitoring System – 2nd Phase) that aims at sizing a fleet of unmanned aircraft for different types of operations mainly for civil purposes. A prototype version of the hyperspectral sensor has already been installed on a ultra-light aircraft and has performed few flight tests. The data coming from the flight test have been first evaluated thanks to a dedicated Matlab® code. Then the main results have been verified, validated and eventually, corrected using STK®, a commercial software. Eventually, the behaviour of the underdevelopment solution (Sphyder® & Falco) has been evaluated for the very same mission of the real flight test. The performances achievable with this flight plan are also compared with those achievable in case of a best endurance or best range flight plan are used. After presenting the methods and tools, used to perform the analyses, and the main results obtained, preliminary hypotheses about the physical installation of the future sensor in the MAME UAV are suggested, in order to optimize the performance and the efficacy of a required mission. Eventually main conclusions are drawn.