Center of Excellence in Europe to link airborne hyperspectral & LiDAR technology and applications
Left: Headwall unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are lightweight and fly pre-programmed flight paths, gathering hyperspectral imaging data over the UV to near-infrared range. Commercial firsts include LiDAR for creating high-precision digital elevation models (DEMs) and data-fusion for visualization and application-specific analysis. Right: one example of an application-specific mission is capturing vegetation health and location to better detect encroachment on critical infrastructure, such as railways. Headwall and geo-konzept collaborated on a presentation at the most recent DJI AirWorks event. With the cooperation of Deutsche Bahn rail, geo-konzept flew a Headwall UAV, taking both hyperspectral images and LiDAR data. The resulting 3D images show can show both an indicator of plant health and the position of potentially at-risk trees adjacent to the railway.
Hannover, Germany, Nov. 12, 2019 – Headwall BVBA, Belgium and geo-konzept of Germany announced at Agritechnica 2019 the formation of a Center for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Europe (CHRSE). Agritechnica is the world’s largest trade fair for agricultural technology and geo-konzept is an Agritechnica exhibitor at Hall 15 / Stand J20.
The Headwall CHRSE will be located at geo-konzept’s headquarters in Adelschlag, Germany. The new center will support the implementation and utilization of hyperspectral imaging technology combined with other sensor technology such as LiDAR and high-precision GPS focusing on agriculture, mining, environmental monitoring and infrastructure inspection applications. The facility features large areas for unmanned drone flights and certified unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots available to test and demonstrate hyperspectral imaging technology in application-specific environments and to train the next generation of UAV operators. The center also offers indoor meeting areas to develop applications together with researchers and users and to train data analysts utilizing hyperspectral imaging technology to come to better, fact-based decisions to manage their applications.
“Headwall focuses on providing UAV-based solutions for critical agriculture applications ranging from plant phenotyping to early detection of crop disease. We have established a broad portfolio of hyperspectral and multispectral sensor solutions purpose built for harsh environments,” said Christian Felsheim, Headwall’s European Area Business Director. “Our partner geo-konzept has accumulated great experience bringing multi-modal sensing technology into demanding applications in the field. Researchers and customers will find that this new Center for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Europe will be a great place to develop application-relevant solutions for their needs.”
“We have a history as an independent authority on applications and technology solutions. Participating in the establishment of this Center for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Europe is a unique opportunity to support our customers, who will benefit from powerful new hyperspectral imaging tools, and our realworld experience in a variety of applications in the field,” said geo-konzept founder Thomas Muhr. “We eagerly anticipate working with Headwall as both a customer of their award-winning products and a now a partner for educating and expanding the market for nimble airborne hyperspectral solutions.”
About Headwall
Headwall is a leading designer and manufacturer of complete spectral instrumentation solutions for remote sensing, advanced machine vision, and government/defense markets. With a worldwide base of end-user and OEM customers, Headwall enjoys a market leadership position through the design and manufacture of spectral solutions that are customized for application-specific performance. The Company has three European locations in Belgium, Germany, and Italy. European headquarters operations at Headwall BVBA are located near Brussels, Belgium. For more information, visit www.headwallphotonics.com
About geo-konzept
Since 1992 geo-konzept GmbH stands for reliable and robust GPS and GIS technologies for agriculture and forestry. The company is one of the market leaders in the field of high-precision and GPS-supported agriculture. Particular emphasis is placed on steering, sensor and management systems. Further business fields are laser-supported and high-precision 2D and 3D measurements, e.g. for architects or blasting companies. Mobile GIS and remote sensing (aerial photography and analysis) also play an important role in the company. Services as well as our own hardware and software development complete the picture of geo-konzept as a company for environmental planning systems. For more information, visit geo-konzept.de