MAPIR's light sensors measure the ambient light spectrum (340 - 1010 nm) to assist with calibrating multispectral images and to document reflectance measurements of objects. The light source can be the sun or artificial (LED, fluorescent, halogen, incandescent, etc). By using a spectrometer in our light sensors the captured data is more accurate and informative compared to traditional photodiode-based light sensors.

DAQ USER GUIDES LIGHT SENSOR DEMO

DAQ-M	DAQ-A-SD
Modular Bluetooth Spectroradiometer	Camera Trigger DLS (+PPK)
Ambient Light Measurements	Ambient Light Measurements
Spectral Calibration (No Units)	Spectral Calibration (No Units)
Object Reflectance Measurements	X
Irradiance Power Calibration (W/m2·nm)	X
Bluetooth + Mobile Applications	Configuration File
Single + Interval Measurements	Single + Interval Measurements
Internal Memory	Internal Memory
X	2x Survey3 Camera Trigger + Exposure (PPK)
X	GNSS (GPS)
X	IMU
Internal Battery (Rechargeable/Replaceable)	Externally Powered
40.0 x 40.0 x 25.0 mm	78.6 x 36.0 x 25.7 mm
44g	60g
DAQ-M	DAQ-A-SD

Our light sensor (spectroradiometer) maintains our reflectance calibration when the ambient light changes.

Below you can see a 3.5 hour time lapse animation with an image captured each minute during partly cloudy weather. The scene is composed of healthy grass with some dead leaves. The images have been processed with a color gradient to show a range from healthy plants (green) to unhealthy/dead plants (red) using the NDVI formula. The 4 sections show the original images, the NDVI when not calibrated, the NDVI when calibrated only with our reference targets and the NDVI when calibrated with both our target and light sensor.

Below: Survey3W OCN, 3.5 hour time-lapse (1 photo/min, 206 frames), Locked Exposure, Cloudy Weather, NDVI LUT 0.2-0.8 [Resolution Reduced for Web Viewing]

Notice how the original images change in brightness constantly as the clouds move in front of the sun. Our light sensor tracks the changes in the ambient light and keeps the index (NDVI) contrast measurements consistent.

Below: Survey3W RGN, 3.5 hour time-lapse (1 photo/min, 206 frames), Locked Exposure, Cloudy Weather, NDVI LUT 0.2-1.0 [Resolution Reduced for Web Viewing]

Survey3W RGN (Left to Right) Original JPG, Calibrated RAW, NDVI LUT 0.2-1.0

Below: Survey3W RGN, Alfalfa Field 400ft, Cloudy vs Sunny Weather, NDVI LUT 0.2-1.0

Using the MAPIR light sensor on an aerial vehicle allows you to capture images even during cloudy weather. The darkening effect from clouds is greatly reduced, allowing consistent data capture in most lighting conditions. The above NDVI images show rows of alfalfa agricultural crops from 400ft (120m), and consist of many individual images that have been stitched together to make a map. Even though there was cloud cover, with the sun going behind the clouds often during the mapping mission, the resulting NDVI contrast map is similar to the next day when the sky was clear.