Hyperspectral measurements of natural signatures: pedestrians

In the hyperspectral imaging community, there is a need for relevant and valid data for testing scientific principles. Several sets of data exist which support satellite and airborne HSI research applications. However, there is a need for data sets to support research looking at detecting and classifying smaller targets such as pedestrians. While many studies capture data on pedestrians, the data sets are often only related to the specific study being conducted. As a result, these types of data sets do not contain the necessary documentation or ground truth needed to apply the data in other contexts. This paper reports on a fully ground truthed HSI data set which was captured in June 2011 over an urban scene with pedestrians present. The imagery was collected using a modified airborne hyperspectral imager suited for ground level imaging in the 450 - 2500 nm wavelength region. The data captured are described along with the ground truth information and documentation which are part of the data package. Preliminary results from an initial study on material spectral separability using the data are included to demonstrate the utility of this particular data set.