Design of a High Dynamic Range Acquisition System for Airborne VNIR Push-Broom Hyperspectral Camera
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Achieving a high frame rate and high dynamic range (HDR) under complex illumination remains a significant challenge for airborne push-broom visible-near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral cameras. Problematic scenarios typically include high-contrast scenes, such as ocean whitecaps alongside deep water or concurrently sunlit and shadowed urban surfaces. To address this, a real-time HDR acquisition system based on a dual-gain complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor is proposed. Specifically, a four-pixel HDR fusion method is developed, utilizing an optical calibration setup to accurately determine the fusion parameters and configure the spectral region of interest (ROI) for reduced data volume. The complete workflow, encompassing spectral–spatial four-pixel binning and piecewise dual-gain fusion, is implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) using a dual-port RAM-based buffering strategy and a low-latency five-stage pipeline. Experimental results demonstrate a minimal processing latency of 0.0183 ms and a maximum frame rate of 290 frames/s. By extending the output bit depth from 11 to 15 bits, the system achieves a digital dynamic range of the final output of 2.03 × 104:1, representing a 9.58-fold improvement over the original low-gain data. The fused HDR data maintain high linearity and good spectral fidelity, with spectral angle mapper (SAM) values at the 10−3 level. Featuring a compact and low-power design, this system provides a practical engineering solution for efficient airborne VNIR hyperspectral acquisition.
Source: Sensors
DOI: 10.3390/s26082474
Language: English
Topic: CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Award: G7226945014
OpenAlex ID: W7154695671