EDEN (Enhanced Digital Electronic Night Vision)

The objective of this Program is to show the operational advantages – such as improved detection, cuing and targeting – of integrating frequency agile HSI hyperspectral imaging (HSI) into current digital night vision (DNV) systems. It can be used on manned and unmanned ground vehicles to produce a fully integrated, rugged and production ready sensor in less than 36 months from award of contract.

HSI sensor equipped EDEN platforms take full advantage of the spectral, signature-rich environment by segmenting a scene of interest into multiple discrete wavelengths.  In the visible, this equates to segmenting the image into a large number of discrete colors. With proper algorithms and software, these wavelengths can be exploited to yield a wealth of information about scenes not possible with conventional broadband color or monochrome image intensified cameras.

By appropriate wavelength selection and signal processing, HSI can automatically detect camouflage that is invisible to the naked eye, provide information on the presence of chem-bio agents, detect the presence of humans, distinguish between living and non-living targets, and reliably detect disturbed earth and vegetation.

The EDEN program will complement current EO/IR sensors, providing soldiers on the ground with significantly increased detection capabilities previously available only on airborne ISR platforms.