The HyperImage project represents the pioneering effort to develop a universal, rapid, modular, and cost-effective spectral image sensing technology platform suitable for both short- and long-range imaging applications.
To achieve this goal, HyperImage will leverage innovative photonic components, including electrically tunable liquid lenses, pixel shifters, fast steering mirrors, and configurable SMD-style IR micro-emitter arrays. These components will be integrated into innovative, high-performance multi- and hyperspectral snapshot and line scan cameras. AI machine learning algorithms will process spectral image data to extract relevant functional product properties, detect, and classify objects for more precise decision-making, such as in autonomous driving.
The technology platform will be complemented by a cloud-based spectral image analysis platform and reference data repository, enabling users to continually enhance image analysis accuracy and prediction models.
HyperImage's technology platform will undergo validation in four industrial use cases: (1) quality control in the manufacturing of high-power electronics; (2) crop growth monitoring for fully automated vertical farming of salads, herbs, and microgreens; (3) spectral image-based vision and navigation in off-road autonomous driving; (4) lightweight, high-resolution hyperspectral vision systems for unmanned geo-surveillance drones.
Through these applications, HyperImage will provide the European industry with a universal, efficient, and reliable solution for object recognition, detailed product and material analysis, and robust quality control in manufacturing. The HyperImage solution is expected to yield significant benefits, including a 10-20% increase in yield and reduced costs in manufacturing and vertical farming, a 20% fuel saving, and up to a 40% increase in operational speed in autonomous off-road driving, as well as up to a 10% reduction in drone weight (in the 25 kg MTOW class), resulting in a 50% increase in flight time due to space for a larger battery.