| Flight Campaigns |
|---|
| In a joint effort to develop
Imaging Spectroscopy (IS) expertise, to
foster the use of IS data in Belgian remote
sensing and to prepare the Belgian research
community for the advent of APEX (www.apex-esa.org),
VITO and the Belgian Science Policy have
organized since 2002, a yearly flight campaign
with diverse airborne hyperspectral images
and imaging spectrometers. More information
on the previous and current flight campaigns
can be found here. |
| Imaging Spectroscopy Lab |
| Within the framework of
the Centre for Image Processing (CVB), the
idea has grown to establish a hyperspectral
instrument pool. Main goal of this instrument
pool is to support (Belgian) scientists,
in executing spectral ground and reference
measurements in the framework of airborne
hyperspectral measurement campaigns. Details
about the instruments and loan conditions
can be found here. |
| APEX - Airborne Prism EXperiment |
| APEX is an airborne (dispersive
push broom) imaging spectrometer developed
by a Swiss-Belgian consortium on behalf
of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is
intended as a simulator and a calibration
and validation device for future spaceborne
hyperspectral imagers. |
| HyperTeach |
| Imaging spectroscopy (IS)
is becoming a major remote sensing technique,
not only internationally but also for the
Belgian technology and application developers.
HyperTeach, a joint project of the VITO,
MUMM, RMCA and K.U.Leuven and funded by
the Belgian Science Policy Office, aims
at developing course material to introduce
theoretically and practically to the emerging
field of Imaging Spectroscopy. |
| Hyperspectral Research |
| VITO developed several
environmental applications, based on airborne
hyperspectral remote sensing. On the hyperspectral
research - website you can find the publications
about these environmental applications. |
| Hyressa - HYperspectral REmote Sensing in Europe specific Support Actions |
| HYRESSA - Towards an improved access
to hyperspectral data across Europe HYRESSA is a project investigating the user needs of the European hyperspectral remote sensing research community, especially with the advent of next-generation European hyperspectral sensors. HYRESSA explores strategies to build a Europe-wide network of hyperspectral remote sensing facilities and to coordinate a user-oriented hyperspectral remote sensing research infrastructure. HYRESSA is a Specific Support Action supported by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme. |
| HYPERFOREST - Advanced LiDAR & airborne hyperspectral remote sensing to support forest management |
In the framework of sustainable forest management, there is a need for reliable data on forests parameters such as tree species composition, stand diversity and forest vitality. These parameters need to be reported at regular intervals at national and international level. Currently, data acquisition is done by time-consuming and labour-intensive field campaigns and specific aspects such as canopy structure are even difficult to directly measure. Hyperspectral (HS) and LiDAR remote sensing (RS) techniques offer the potential to facilitate and improve information acquisition. However, this potential still has to be demonstrated in highly structured closed forests. |
| RESORT - REmote sensing for Seasonal and Overseas Retrieval of TSM |
| Each year, dredging companies remove more than two million m³ of estuarine sediment from the Scheldt River (Belgium). This is necessary to assure access to the harbour of Antwerp. International Marine and Dredging Consultants (IMDC) advises government agencies and dredging companies to help them carry out their activities. Images of the sediment concentration are essential if accurate advice is to be given. IMDC uses this information to select new salvage locations, to estimate possible movements of sediment clouds and to calibrate sediment transport models. For these reasons, they rely on VITO to develop a method to map at a given time the surface sediment concentrations over large areas. |
| RIMS - Reliable Image Management Systems in Support of Urban Services and Disaster Management |
| In June 2005, the Flemish Government made the resources available to initiate the development towards operational UAV systems, i.e. the Pegasus project. The Pegasus project aims to demonstrate that a High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (HALE UAV) is a valuable missing link to the traditional platforms used in Remote Sensing (RS), i.e. manned aircraft or satellites, with respect to (a) disaster monitoring, in response to the user requirement of nearreal- time product delivery and (b) photogrammetic application in response to the user requirement of the regional availability of decimeter resolution imagery. |
| BOSS4GMES - Building Operational Sustainable Services for GMES |
| The BOSS4GMES project aims to provide the technical, financial and contractual foundations which will enable the transition of GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) from a concept to an effective, operational programme, and, in doing so, to link GMES with key political decision makers, a broader sphere of users and the wider public. Within BOSS4GMES, VITO is one of the “Service Providers” of the Land FTS section of the project. |