A GIS-ready portable Airborne Multisensor Imaging System

Significant progress has been made to a GIS-ready portable Airborne Multisensor Imaging System (PAMIS). The latest 64-bit embedded computer based PAMIS operates a 1024 by 1024 pixel long-wave infrared (LWIR) Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) sensor, a 6576 by 4384 pixel electro-optical (EO) imager, and an integrated GPS/INS device. It collects frame-synchronized multisensor EO/LWIR imagery in both raw and optimized JPEG formats at a sustained frame rate of up to 5 frames/sec, providing high data throughput of 1 GB/sec for directly geo-referenced and GIS-ready imagery at a ground resolution down to 1cm to satisfy today's high-resolution, long-range, and wide-area fast mapping needs. The direct georeferencing implements a rigorous sensor model. It registers EO/LWIR image frames with a typical Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of down to lm in the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) datum by exploiting the optical and boresight calibration parameters of the EO/LWIR sensor platform, the exterior orientation solutions from the integrated INS, and the existing digital elevation models (DEMs) of the terrain. This paper also presents the PAMIS GIS-ready LWIR and 1cm resolution EO samples.