A high resolution multispectral video system

Abstract

The design, operation, and testing of a high resolution multispectral video system (HRMVS) is described. The system uses state‐of‐the‐art video technology. It incorporates three black‐and‐white (B & W) visible/near‐infrared (NIR) (0.4–1.1 μm) light sensitive solid‐state cameras equipped with band‐pass filters and provides two kinds of simultaneously synchronized video images: (1) color‐infrared (CIR) composite imagery and (2) its three‐band B & W image components. Only CIR composite imagery is presented here with its B & W components (yellow‐green, red, and NIR bands), but any false color combination can be generated by the encoder. Images are recorded on high resolution (400 horizontal lines) Super (S)‐VHS recorders. An independent solid‐state conventional color (0.4–0.7 μm) camcorder (S‐VHS) was optional to this system. It was set up to acquire imagery at approximately the same field‐of‐view as the three‐camera synchronized system. Examples of imagery of various natural resource characteristics are given. Color‐infrared composite imagery had similar color tonal renditions to that of CIR film. The high resolution multispectral Black & White B & W images showed that some terrain features could be discriminated better in certain bands. For example, the yellow‐green (543–0.552 μm) band was best for distinguishing chlorosis in grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench), whereas the NIR band was optimum for separating biomass levels in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). The color and Black & White B & W multispectral image results showed this system to be a valuable and versatile tool for a variety of remote sensing applications.