Bodkin Design and Engineering has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a compact hyperspectral imager for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms for precision agriculture.
The USDA awarded the Massachusetts-based development and engineering firm $100,000 to create a camera that will monitor water stress in plants from small UAVs, in addition to measuring fertilizer and chemical distribution in farm fields. By using a hyperspectral imaging camera that combines the spatial image with spectral analysis to build a 3D data cube that cannot be seen by the human eye, it will provide the USDA with more accurate identification of materials.
“BD&E’s patented design provides a highly sensitive instrument for this application, in a simple, low-cost, robust package. A prototype hyperspectral imager has been demonstrated in the lab and under this program we will demonstrate its efficacy in the field.” said owner and founder of Bodkin Design & Engineering, Andrew Bodkin.
The device being built by Bodkin Design and Engineering will capture the aforementioned spectral and spatial information in one instantaneous video frame and has no moving parts. The 9-month project is funded under Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and is one of the steps the Department of Agriculture is taking to reduce the impact of climate change.
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