Our Work

High-altitude platform systems (HAPS) are a cutting-edge technology that can provide persistent Earth observations from the stratosphere. Innovative Imaging and Research (I2R) has partnered with Aerostar to develop a versatile HAPS Day Night (DANI) Hyperspectral Imaging Demonstrator to explore how HAPS can enable persistent hyperspectral imaging under both low light and bright sunlit conditions. The project will integrate an imaging payload consisting of a hyperspectral imager, a long wave infrared (LWIR) thermal infrared camera, and a high-resolution red-green-blue (RGB) visible camera into the Aerostar stratospheric Thunderhead Balloon system. The DANI hyperspectral imager will be designed to collect high-resolution spectra of night lights, generating specific light maps to help us understand energy usage, light pollution, and human activity like never before. Taking advantage of the HAPS’s lower speed and altitude, the proposed system offers sensitivity and dynamic range potential that is orders of magnitude higher than any current or planned moderate-resolution hyperspectral satellites. DANI will also support the Surface Biology and Geology Mission by providing persistent daytime hyperspectral leaf canopy chemistry measurements during the growing season, collecting data missed by traditional polar-orbiting satellites due to lengthy revisit times. The thermal infrared camera will detect clouds at night and provide insight into canopy temperatures. As an added benefit, DANI will also be able to monitor fires and potentially volcano eruptions and lava flow. A complementary high-resolution framing camera will use structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques to measure topography. These measurements support the needs described by the Surface Topography and Vegetation (STV) Incubation team, which identified the need for more frequent topography observations.

Ground-based sun photometers provide a vital, consistent global long-term aerosol data record to better understand the impact of aerosols on climate and improve aerosol transport models and bound lidar-derived aerosol products. Sun photometers only provide aerosol information during the day, and there are few nighttime aerosol measurements despite scientific and commercial interest. To address this data gap, I2R proposes Angstrom, an affordable, easily deployable multiband wide field-of-view (FOV) imaging star photometer that measures aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Angstrom parameter across the night sky using stars. Angstrom can augment traditional sun/lunar photometer networks and significantly improve atmospheric monitoring. It applies state-of-the-art image processing techniques to systems with emerging high quantum efficiency, low read noise CMOS sensors, and high-quality machine vision optics. Early simulations and test data suggest these imaging systems can acquire dim star fields at a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio. We aim to achieve a comparable level of accuracy as gold-standard daytime sun photometers. Imaging star photometers capture large sky regions, measuring near-instantaneous spatial variability impossible with traditional narrow FOV photometers. Angstrom can take advantage of traditional Langley calibration or multi-star methods by imaging multiple stars in a portion of sky covering a wide range of air mass or by continuously imaging stars moving through varying air mass. Angstrom tracks stars through image processing, eliminating complex precision moving mechanisms. Angstrom will also determine the camera’s orientation measurements via the relative positions of stars, reducing installation and maintenance costs and allowing it to be more easily deployed on ships, UAVs, and fixed terrestrial locations where measurements have been difficult.

Warfighters planning and conducting A2/AD entry operations need up-to-date, high-quality information within dynamic littoral zones. We plan to develop an easily deployable day-night, near-real-time measurement capability for bathymetry, topography, currents, and water surface temperature derived from sensors and computing capabilities housed within a small rotary UAS. For decades, it has been known that nearshore bathymetry can be estimated using gravity wave dispersion relationships derived from a time series of remotely sensed imagery. However, the current implementation does not easily provide the long dwell time needed for continuous operation. Our approach integrates the cBathy gravity wave dispersion algorithm with directly georeferenced thermal and visible imagery to produce robust nearshore bathymetry with a well-understood error estimate. Direct georeferencing will eliminate or significantly reduce the need for ground control points. Calibrated low-cost thermal imaging cameras will measure day-night bathymetry and surface temperatures. Structure from Motion techniques using visible and thermal imagery will generate topographic subaerial dense point clouds with RGB and temperature map overlays. Small low-power computing components will enable on-board real-time processing for rapid transmission to ground personnel.

Hydrogen flames can be nearly invisible during the day, which makes them hard to detect and potentially dangerous. A significant fire at a rocket test or launch facility could be catastrophic to infrastructure or, even worse, to human life. NASA has long used liquid hydrogen as a fuel and plans to continue using it in association with its advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology, which makes hydrogen fire detection critical. Hydrogen fire detection is essential for rocket propulsion safety and maintenance. Non-imaging, non-visible fire detection technology has a limited range and can suffer from false alarms from sources outside the region of interest. Low-cost visible imagers, commonly used for wide-scale routine surveillance, have limited utility in detecting hydrogen fires.

To address these challenges, I2R  will develop a low-cost imaging capability that fuses data collected from sensors operating in the (1) solar-blind ultra-violet, (2) thermal infrared, and (3) visible spectrum, using advanced spectral, spatial, and temporal processing techniques optimized to detect and generate alerts associated with hydrogen fires in real-time. This multi-sensor, multi-processing approach will enable us to automate flame detection with extremely low false alarm rates. In addition to control room alerts, we will build an app based on smartphone and other electronic devices’ wireless communication capabilities to provide real-time fire detection communications to key decision-makers and first responders. This multi-sensor imaging research could also support NASA’s important cool flame microgravity research on the International Space Station.

Innovative Imaging & Research Corp. attended the DESIS launch to the International Space Station

Innovative Imaging & Research Corp. is supporting Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) to validate the image quality and absolute radiometric calibration accuracy of imagery acquired by the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) onboard the ISS. DESIS imagery is commercially available through TBE. 

Innovative Imaging and Research proposes to develop a 21st-century color, high-speed, extreme high dynamic range (Color-XHDR) video recording technology that will produce engineering-grade video to accurately document rocket motor firings at close range within a test cell without image saturation. Our innovation offers clear visual high-speed video recording essential for NASA during rocket engine certification ground testing. This recording capability is critical during post-mishap investigations. Our cameras were fielded at the NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC), improving on their current systems’ significant limitations, including plume saturation, rolling shutter image wobble, and camera geometric distortion. We also stored data off-camera, preventing loss of critical information during mishaps.

 This novel imaging system will include a compact, single focal plane array camera and end-to-end image processing software to produce high-quality, low-noise, high-speed video that is not currently possible with today’s technology. The compact camera will be compatible with existing SSC camera housing, and acquired imagery will be stored off-camera to prevent loss of information in the event of a mishap. The system will be able to record entire test sequences at >250 fps for up to 45 minutes. Most importantly, the system will produce XHDR (>120 dB dynamic range) HD format (1080p or larger) imagery so that relatively dark test cell infrastructure and test article hardware will be visible along with hot molten debris in exhaust plumes that can be nearly as bright as the sun. The imagery will be calibrated to provide engineering information such as radiance, color temperature, and particle trajectories. Stereo calibration will enable multiple cameras to provide accurate 3-D XHDR image products. 

I2R will create a new radiometric vicarious calibration approach for the Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band’s (DNB) high gain stage (HGS) to complement traditional, extended source, radiance-based calibrations. Current approaches are based on natural lunar illumination and are not as accurate as desired. Our approach will produce affordable, remotely controlled, and monitored, field-deployable, NIST-traceable point source lamps that can achieve HGS DNB radiance per pixel with a long-term, post-correction source stability of better than 1%. We will use radiative transfer modeling and VIIRS DNB characteristics to achieve a top-of-atmosphere absolute radiometric accuracy better than 5% under clear sky conditions. The artificial source will produce multiple spectral distributions, including one that can approximate natural lunar-illuminated scenes to ensure this new approach is compatible with ongoing lunar illumination-based vicarious radiometric calibrations. The source will be designed to turn on during the VIIRS DNB site overpass only when optimal observation conditions exist. Built-in lamp sensors will provide lamp health information, and auxiliary sensors will measure environmental conditions for the site. Our approach should apply to other nighttime imagers and will help calibrate other point sources observed by VIIRS.

Continuing our Phase I STTR Research, I2R will team with the University of Houston Clear Lake to develop Lambda-Net, a widely extensible, affordable, energy-efficient, smart lighting device. Lambda-Net will contribute to the growing market of smart building technologies that revolutionized energy savings and sustainability for terrestrial applications and space-based habitats. Our device incorporates a smartphone or comparably sized integrated computing/sensing device into each LED fixture. We choose smartphones because of their inexpensive, mass-produced, highly integrated imaging, computing, and communication technologies, ideally suited to perform energy-saving lighting control. Their cameras are highly capable imaging photosensors that use calibration techniques developed for NASA and commercial remote sensing. We will create novel algorithms, advanced spatially distributed occupancy sensing, and lighting control to individually tailor each light’s intensity and spectral content to reduce energy usage, increase lighting efficacy, and improve circadian rhythm-influenced activities such as sleeping and concentration. Integrating sensing and computing into each light fixture will also provide the infrastructure for a robust sensor network. We will achieve network communication via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and draw electricity from local power lines. The resulting sensor network will enable a wide range of terrestrial and space-based applications that require high-quality spatially selectable, spectrally programmable illumination. Specific cases include monitoring building/habitat temperature, humidity and air quality, occupant health and safety, habitat space utilization, and astronaut activity (including deep space adaptation). 

I2R will team with the University of Southern Mississippi to develop a novel energy-efficient smart light system. By adding an occupancy sensor, photosensor, controller, and dimming unit to a light source, smart lighting has been shown to save up to 50% of the energy required to power traditional lighting in existing buildings and up to 35% in new construction. Our system will increase energy savings and functionality by turning a commonly available low-cost digital camera into an imaging photosensor using calibration techniques developed for NASA and the remote sensing industry. It will use mobile devices to monitor and process control software within the smart light. Our system will make spatial and temporal adjustments to light levels based on monitoring available natural light in a process known as daylight harvesting. While the system will begin with white LEDs, it is designed to accommodate other colors, which can be mixed to match natural light. Mobile devices will reduce privacy concerns and process imagery within the light sensor without recording or transmitting information. 

I2R will team with the University of Southern Mississippi Instrument and Cryogenics Research Laboratory to integrate existing NASA Stennis Space Center cryogen level monitoring technology with noncontact optical methods and advanced signal processing. We will place a fiber-optic laser range finder on a low-pressure cryogen run tank’s upper surface and use the existing Hall effect float system to reflect the light signal to the range finder. We will also combine fiber-optic range finder and heritage system measurements using a custom Kalman filter signal processing algorithm to reduce measurement noise and increase accuracy.

Our alternative physics-based approach will create a 21st-century liquid cryogen level measurement technique with several advantages over the existing Hall effect method. It yields near-continuous measurements independent of individual sensor locations. The optical range finder instrument will be calibrated outside the tank to minimize impact on test operation and to avoid the need to empty run tanks. In addition, an optical fiber mounted on the upper surface of a cryogen tank does not present foreign object debris (FOD) concerns. During the Phase I STTR project, we will demonstrate our concept in a university cryogen research laboratory using a commercial optical range finder and bring the concept from TRL level 2 to 4.