Assessment of new camouflage prototypes deployed in semi-desertic environments using hyperspectral polarimetric imaging sensors

Electro-optic (EO) sensors operating in the reflective and thermal bands are commonly used for a wide range of surveillance applications. Among the ones of interest is the detection of military targets cluttered in natural environment using either broadband or multispectral imaging sensors. Additionally, the spectral information of the elements of a scene under surveillance can be exploited further by hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors to provide enhanced detection capability against Army assets thwarted by Camouflage, Concealment, and Deception (CC&D) countermeasure techniques. While innovative camouflages are designed to mimic the spectral signature of various background environments, new advanced hyperspectral imaging sensors having increased sensitivity and spectral resolution are also actively developed. Accordingly, hyperspectral polarimetric imaging sensors have been devised to measure the polarization property of light in addition to the spectral signatures of the elements of a scene. Such imaging sensors provide the capability to improve further the detection of a broad range of target materials buried in various vegetation backgrounds while reducing false alarm rates. This paper investigates the use of ground-based hyperspectral polarimetric sensors to assess the optical performance of camouflage prototypes currently in development for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Unpolarized and polarized radiance measurements of camouflage prototypes deployed in semi-desertic environments were acquired in the visible and shortwave infrared spectral bands. Experimental results demonstrate the benefits of using hyperspectral polarimetric imaging sensors to improve the detection performance of different camouflage prototypes, and open up potential to develop new remote sensing capabilities that are able to deal with improved CC&D countermeasure means.