A Comprehensive Literature Review on Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Techniques and Applications

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) is an advanced analytical technique that utilizes spectroscopy to capture numerous images at various wavelengths for a given spatial area. Unlike the human eye, which can only perceive three colors (blue, green, and red), HSI measures the complete spectrum of light for each pixel in the scene with precise wavelength resolution, extending beyond the visible spectrum into the near-infrared. The data collected from this process form a hyperspectral cube, where two dimensions represent the spatial extent of the scene and the third dimension represents its spectral content. In HSI, there are three main types of spectral imagers employed: push broom scanners and related whisk broom scanners (spatial scanning), which capture images over time; band sequential scanners (spectral scanning), which acquire images of an area at different wavelengths sequentially; and snapshot hyperspectral imaging, which utilizes a staring array to generate an image instantaneously. Each material possesses a distinct spectral signature that can serve as a unique ‘fingerprint’ for its identification, making HSI an incredibly powerful tool for a wide range of applications in remote sensing.