Learn about optical payloads and space optical remote sensing, the heart of space missions with Avantier’s custom high-performance optics.
Learn about optical payloads and space optical remote sensing, the heart of space missions with Avantier’s custom high-performance optics.
Key Takeaways: Optics in agriculture, powered by advanced sensors, revolutionize farming with real-time crop health data and precision farming techniques. Smart agriculture sensors like hyperspectral and LIDAR provide detailed insights into soil composition, plant health, and growth patterns, enabling targeted interventions for water, fertilizer, and pest management. This approach reduces chemical use, boosts efficiency, and enhances yield. Avantier offers custom optics for agricultural applications, supporting farmers with high-performance solutions tailored to optimize smart agriculture practices. Smart agriculture, powered by cutting edge optics, is transforming the way we produce food today. Optics in agriculture have the ability to provide an in depth understanding of many facets of crop health, and the use of optical sensors is gaining widespread popularity as a way of optimizing yield. It may be utilized to provide continuous crop monitoring and flag potential issues before they become problematic. Machine vision systems can also guide precision machinery, and artificial lighting enables farmers to maximize growth even under adverse outdoor conditions. Optics in agriculture enable us to take food production to the next level. In this article we’ll look at some of the optical systems used in smart agriculture. First, though, just what are the benefits of harnessing optical technology for agriculture? Benefits of Optics in Agriculture A few of the benefits of using optics in agriculture include: Increased Efficiency: Optical monitoring provides real-time information on crop health that enables the farmer to target water, fertilization, and pest control to areas that need it, reducing waste. Machine vision systems enable streamlined cultivation, irrigation, harvesting, and sorting of produce. Reduced Chemical Use: Optical monitoring systems enable targeted responses to actual problems, rather than relying on blanket preventative methods to safeguard their crops against a host of potentially nonexistent pests. Cost Savings: Optical-powered precision agricultural methods provide significant cost-savings when compared to traditional ‘blind’ agricultural management methods. Improved Yield and Productivity: Quick response to emergent conditions leads to healthier plants and livestock, resulting in higher yields. How Optics Power Smart Agriculture Precision agriculture systems rely on optics to provide precise, real time information on crop health and growth. Here, let’s focus on two specific types of optical monitoring sensors: hyperspectral sensors and LIDAR. Focus in: Hyperspectral Sensors in Agriculture RGB sensors measure light at three color bands and multispectral sensors at 4-10 different bands, but when you use a hyperspectral sensor you can measure light at dozens or even hundreds of narrow, adjacent bands. This provides a wealth of information about imaging targets, whether that be soil, minerals, or vegetation. This image produced by hyperspectral sensors highlights the fungal infection on Merlot leaves. Do you need information on a plant’s chemical composition? Hyperspectral sensors can provide that. They can also give you details of health and maturity, and provide precise information on leaf density, water, and chlorophyll content. Pathogens are visible with hyperspectral sensors before they are visible to the human eye, and these optics can be used to determine early stages of nutrient deficiency as well. Some farmers even use hyperspectral sensors to predict the shelf life of leafy greens! LIDAR is another important component of optics in agriculture. Focus In: LIDAR in Agriculture LIDAR is another powerful optical tool in the precision farmer’s toolbox. This multi-faceted tool can be used to create detailed 3D maps of farming land, complete with variations in slope, aspect, and elevation as well as soil type and water flow. This knowledge enables farmers to make intelligent decisions on what to plant where, as well as to plan effectively to avoid soil erosion, improve irrigation, and make the most of natural water catchment areas. During the growing season, LIDAR can be used to provide a bird’s eye view— comprehensive but detailed— on crop growth and expected yield. It is often turned to after a drought or environmental disaster to help farmers determine exactly how badly a particular crop has been damaged. Optics in Agriculture: A Dynamic Field These are just a few examples of optics in agriculture, providing farmers with an in-depth understanding of the land they cultivate and of the growth of their crops. But optic use is far-reaching, and can provide information into almost any aspect of plant growth. IR sensors measure crop temperature and provide insights on plant respiration and moisture content. Multispectral sensors can give information on plant health, maturity levels, and the levels of contamination or presence of foreign bodies. Even basic RGB sensors can be used to produce maps of vegetation growth at different stages, predict yield, and minimize chemical load. At Avantier, we produce custom optics for high-performance optical applications, including those in agriculture. If you’d like more information on how we can work with you to get you the optical components you need, contact us! We’d love to partner with you and enable you to get the most out of your precision agriculture setup. Related Content
Key Takeaways: Optics for ultra lightweight space cameras requires top performance with minimal weight, which is crucial for spacecraft where every gram matters. These cameras use advanced materials like carbon fiber and titanium, ensuring durability and high-quality imaging in extreme conditions, from -50°C to 50°C. Key features include minimized mass, high-performance optics, radiation shielding, low power consumption, and thermal stability. Designed to withstand intense launch forces and harsh space environments, these cameras provide clear, high-resolution images while maintaining energy efficiency. Optics for Ultra Lightweight Space Cameras Ultra lightweight space cameras fit maximum performance in a minimalist package. They’ve got to—- when you’re launching a spacecraft weight is at a premium, and every gram counts. But this is not the time to compromise on quality. Ultra lightweight space cameras utilize advanced materials to provide superior performance at minimum weight. They’re built for radiation shielding and low power consumption and can function in a stable manner even when the temperature varies wildly. Want to know more? This article looks at some of the key features of lightweight space cameras, and how they come together to provide the premium functionality you need for out-of this-world missions. First, though, let’s focus on the extreme environment these cameras are built for. Ultra lightweight space cameras come with unique challenges— but they also open the door to unique opportunities. Focus on: Space Environments 100 to 200 miles above the earth’s surface is where polar orbiting satellites hang out. These satellites circle the earth, passing over a particular point on the earth twice every day— once during daytime, once during the night. This leads to extreme variations in temperature experienced over the course of the day, potentially from -50°C to 50°C. The atmosphere out here is thin, and everything on the satellite is bathed in potentially destructive radiation. Still, cameras mounted on a polar satellite can take detailed imagery of storms, wildfires, volcanoes, and many other happenings on Earth. Features of Optics for Ultra Lightweight Space Cameras In order to perform well under those extreme conditions, a space camera needs to be something special. But it’s not just space environments that require special athermalized design and robust housing. Although space cameras are protected during launch, they are still subject to intense jarring and very quick starts that could warp all but the best housing. MWIR lens MWIR lens SWIR lens Ultra lightweight space cameras contain high performance optics in a compact package Features of ultra lightweight space cameras include: Minimized mass Special materials like carbon fiber, titanium, and advanced composites allow us to build cameras that are both light and strong. Full power, but a small footprint with minimum mass? Yes, it’s possible! Space cameras are also designed with minimal mechanical and electronic components. There are several reasons for them, and size and weight is only one. Eliminating moving and electric parts also decreases the chance of failure and lengthens the time between service needs. High Performance Optics Why send a subpar camera to space? Though a space camera must be small and compact, it should also be capable of taking high quality images. Careful design and the use of high quality mirrors, lenses, and sensors enable these cameras to produce clear, high resolution images of their surroundings. One feature you may sometimes see in space cameras is folding mirrors which can hide away when not in use. Radiation Shielding On earth, we’re protected from dangerous radiation by multiple layers of the atmosphere. A camera working in space will be exposed to very high levels of radiation, and all delicate optical parts must be adequately protected by radiation-protective housing and thin films. Low Power Consumption Space cameras typically function on battery power, and thus should be designed to use a minimum of energy. Eliminating unnecessary features and using low-power electronics are two techniques used to optimize the power-to-performance ratios of space cameras. We work hard to ensure you’ll be able to take as many high quality images as possible, even with minimal battery life. Thermal Stability If you’ve taken your iPhone camera out to the beach in Florida— or on the ski slopes in Switzerland— you know that it doesn’t appreciate extreme temperatures. A space camera, in contrast, is designed to function optimally at all temperatures it is likely to reach, whether they are very hot, very cold, or somewhere in between. Careful choice of substrates and mounting materials provide the thermal stability you need in space, and rigorous testing ensures there are no surprises when your camera gets to its final position. Optics for Space Cameras at Avantier At Avantier we love a challenge, and we specialize in providing high-performance custom optics for our valued customers. Space cameras are no exception. Whether you need a camera designed for a polar orbiting satellite or a telescope for your high altitude UAV, we have you covered. Contact us today to start the design process or begin finding about more about what it takes to create the best space camera out there today. Related Content:
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Key Takeaways SWIR Camera Surveillance uses SWIR light to achieve superior SWIR imaging in conditions where visible light fails. SWIR light penetrates fog and smoke better than visible light, providing clearer images. SWIR imaging is unaffected by heat haze and atmospheric variations, ensuring consistent quality. SWIR cameras use sensors like InGaAs or MCT, often integrating with existing systems with minimal changes. SWIR Camera Surveillance: Eliminating Haze There’s a deep fog over everything, and you can’t see your hand when you hold it in front of you. The perfect night for a thief to sneak into your factories, make out with whatever they can carry, and get out the same way they came— or is it? Not if you have SWIR camera surveillance. While visible light cannot penetrate well in water vapor, SWIR light has no problem that way. A SWIR camera can produce clear, high resolution images even when the human eye is unable to make heads or tails of anything. Here we’ll look at just what SWIR can do and how it does it. SWIR camera surveillance makes it possible to get a clear view of a foggy landscape. The Foundations of SWIR Camera Surveillance SWIR is short for short wave infrared and is the part of the spectrum with wavelength between 0.9 and 1.7 microns. Photons of SWIR light are absorbed and reflected from an object in a way analogous to visible light. It enables a high dynamic range and good contrast in imaging. But this light is invisible to the human eye, and the silicon sensors used for visible light imaging don’t work with SWIR. Dedicated SWIR sensors (typically made of InGaAs or MCT) are used instead. SWIR lighting can illuminate an industrial complex at night while maintaining the appearance of darkness. Outdoors, natural SWIR (‘night glow’) is present under nearly all weather conditions, both day and night. Night glow is a type of atmospheric radiance that allows SWIR camera surveillance in even the darkest nights. Why SWIR Camera Surveillance? We’ve touched briefly on why short wave infrared SWIR camera surveillance is so important to a wide range of applications, but let’s look at it in more detail now. The importance of SWIR imaging lies in its wavelength. Since SWIR light has a shorter wavelength than visible light, it isn’t scattered by the microparticles of fog and smoke. This makes SWIR imaging more effective in such conditions compared to visible light. Heat haze and atmospheric temperature variances can cause havoc with thermal imaging. However, these factors do not affect SWIR imaging. This makes SWIR imaging ideal for ensuring clear images at any time, whether it is night or morning. It also works effectively regardless of the atmospheric conditions. Visible LWIR SWIR SWIR camera surveillance can provide clear images even when both visible and LWIR imaging fails. Is that the only reason major players in industry, defense, and security are turning to SWIR camera surveillance? No, there are more. One benefit of SWIR vision systems is that no visible illumination is needed. As mentioned in the last section, a powerful beam of SWIR light can illuminate a setting that looks dark to everyone using more traditional imaging equipment. A SWIR sensor can also be used to locate lasers and beacons, making it helpful in keeping track of mobile teams or for military IR laser spotting and tracking. In biometrics, SWIR can be used to distinguish between fake hair and human hair. This enables easy identification of individuals who might be attempting to disguise their identity. Human hair will appear light, while fake hair shows up as dark. There’s nothing easier than picking out a person who is carrying around a head of hair that was manufactured in a factory. SWIR Imaging Equipment The InGaAs sensors used for SWIR imaging are manufactured from indium gallium arsenide. These sensors can detect light radiation ranging from 550nm to as high as 2.5μm. An alternative to InGaAs is MCT, or mercury-cadmium detector, which can detect into the long wave infrared LWIR region. The benefit of MCT is that it is ‘tunable’. The optical absorption wavelength changes based on the cadmium concentration. This allows the amount of cadmium (Cd) to be chosen to create a sensor that absorbs optimally in a given region. There is a big downside to MCT sensors, however— they must be cryogenically cooled. SWIR radiation travels through glass in much the same way as visible light. This means that standard camera lenses, mirrors, and other optics can be used in short wave cameras. If you’d like to switch your existing surveillance system over to SWIR you may need to make only small modifications. It may take less than you think to set up your new SWIR camera surveillance system. Custom SWIR Camera Surveillance At Avantier, we’re all about producing custom optics that enable our customers to reach their performance goals, no matter what the application. Whether you need a SWIR camera with high frame rates and low exposure time, a SWIR vision system for an unmanned vehicle, or SWIR imaging equipment for a research project, we can assist you. We provide the optical components and lens assemblies necessary for your specific needs. Just let us know your requirements, and we’ll tailor our solutions accordingly. Related Content