Description
The NASA Langley-Hampton Multispectral Polarimeter capstone project, completed by Hampton University engineering students with support from NASA Langley, focuses on creating a portable airborne polarimetric imaging system using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The goal is to design a lightweight, cost-effective, and modular system capable of collecting and processing calibrated polarimetric data for wildfire and dust detection at remote ground stations and airborne platforms. Polarimetric imaging is valuable in remote sensing because it improves material detection, surface classification, and environmental monitoring.
Our system uses a LUCID Vision Labs Phoenix™ Polarized Color Camera with built-in polarization filters, allowing simultaneous capture of multiple polarization angles. The system can adapt to different applications such as wildfire and dust monitoring, vegetation mapping, ocean surface analysis, material identification, and structural inspection. Using COTS hardware reduces cost and development time while keeping the system accessible for research and educational use.
A key part of the project is the calibration and processing pipeline. The team developed software to correct sensor noise, lens distortion, and alignment errors while converting raw images into formats suitable for scientific analysis. This system is designed to have a lightweight housing and optimized component placement, with features such as vibration-dampening materials and active thermal management. A small embedded processor was included for on-board computation and data storage. The final design will be an upward facing ground platform that is compatible with UAV platforms. This system will enable dust and wildfire monitoring.. Overall, the project shows how modern COTS technology and thoughtful engineering can expand remote-sensing capabilities in an affordable and practical way.