Seeking European partners to implement and/or commercialize an hyperspectral scanning sensor suitable for several industry sectors

Panvion has specialized in designing and creating advanced optical sensors, specifically for high-altitude wide-coverage airborne applications such as search and rescue, precision agriculture and surveillance. The custom designed systems span from the ultraviolet to the far thermal infrared spectral regions and include hyperspectral and polarization sensors. Onboard fast target detection is achieved by convulsion neural network algorithms and hardware.

Amongst the sensors developed are for powerline inspection from helicopters; multispectral precision agriculture for wide-area coverage, and hyperspectral imaging for a number of applications from food security to medical imaging.

Besides Panvion’s activities on commercializing its many yeas (17) of research and development in these areas, the company developed a unique real-time visible light hyperspectral scanning imager that rivals most in terms of performance, resolution and cost.

The development it is unique in that it uses a whisk-broom approach and very high-speed cameras with Fabry-Perot etalon concepts. The imager is at the demonstration level, with software to create hypercube from the scanner. Currently it is being tested in a high-altitude airborne application in the agriculture, and later this year for oil slick detection, and maritime search and rescue.

The hyperspectral imaging scanner covers an extensive list of potential application possibilities. The focus that Panvion would like to work with the EU partners is for commercialization that involves mainly software development in two areas (other areas can be considered):

1. Real-time diagnostic non-invasive medical applications specifically in endoscopy and surgery
2. Industrial scale greenhouses phenotyping to continuously monitor and protect crop from disease

The objectives for participating is to identify one or more joint technology partners interested in using this unique and powerful hyperspectral scanning sensor once both companies have jointly developed appropriate solutions for the market in question, and/or for jointly pursue exploiting the imagers for a number of commercial opportunities in which to enhance the hardware and create new application software.

The benefit to the participating company are several, a substantial advantage in having a proven demonstrable risk-free solution in hyperspectral imaging not available elsewhere (i.e. shorter time to market).

What is needed mainly are the specific customer software to be developed with some customization for the hardware. This is a powerful incentive to get into an important future technology without the large entry cost and risks.

Preferences / Requirements for Potential European Partner(s)

The following are the important aspects Panvion is looking for in a European partner:

• Hyperspectral imaging is a new field and the R&D partner should preferably be one that does not have the technology tool set, specifically the hardware portion which is unique to Panvion.
• The partner should be already working and marketing in an area that could use hyperspectral classification in real-time being a key advantage of the system.
• The partner should have a s trong scientific remote sensing know-how principally in software development and mathematical solutions and methods.
• Preference is for any sized company that wants to enter this new area.
• Knowledge of AI and deep learning would be ideal and some aspects of the solution involves deep learning for targets of interest.
• Partners, knowledgeable in any one or more of these fields would be of benefit: precision agriculture, medical optical instrumentation, remote sensing, food inspection, forestry, mineral exploration, hyperspectral software development, optical instrument design and manufacturing for scientific and commercial uses.