Low-cost high-resolution line scanner as imaging NDVI sensor

A new low-cost high-resolution line scanner has been developed at theAlfred Wegener Institut for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. ForNDVI applications the Color Line Scanner (CLS) measures the solarradiation reflected by the ground surface in the spectral ranges of500nm to 570nm (green), 580nm to 680nm (red) and 720nm to 830nm(near infrared). With the red and near infrared spectral bands the NDVIcan be calculated in order to map vegetation. The line scanner supportsa resolution of 2048 pixels per line for each spectral band. During dataacquisition 50 lines per second are stored yielding a maximum spatialresolution of better than 0.5m. With DGPS and attitude measurements(INS or Vector GPS) it is possible to geo-reference the line scanner datainto a map format with an absolute accuracy of a few metres. Severalimages can be combined to cover large areas. After the determinationof mounting errors the geo-referencing into a map is carried outautomatically without manual adjustments. The CLS was first used as animaging NDVI sensor at Airborne Research Australia (ARA) the MajorNational Research Facility at the Flinders University of South Australiato investigate spatial and temporal variations of vegetation cover.