Detection of Small Floating Objects in Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging for Maritime Surveillance

Abstract

In this study, we developed a technology for detecting small objects by conducting two aerial experiments targeting various objects, including ships, mannequins, and maritime safety equipment floating in coastal areas, thereby acquiring hyperspectral image data. By utilizing the hyperspectral data, we detected the pixels corresponding to the edges of ships and employed an ellipse fitting approach to identify the vessels, achieving a length error of 0.44 m. The N-FINDR spectral unmixing technique was applied to detect lifebuoys, buoyant apparatus, and mannequins, resulting in relatively small length errors ranging from 0.08 to 0.17 m.