# US 10,769,436 B2 · Multiband filtering image collection and analysis > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,769,436 B2 - Document ID: US10769436B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/957,815 - Filed: 2018-04-19 - Published: 2018-10-25 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2017-04-19 - Assignees: Sentera, Inc. - Applicants: Sentera, Inc. - Inventors: Ryan Lee Nelson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10769436B2 ## CPC - G06V 20/188: {Vegetation} - G06T 7/0012: {Biomedical image inspection} - G06T 7/90: Determination of colour characteristics - H04N 23/11: for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths - H04N 23/16: Optical arrangements associated therewith, e.g. for beam-splitting or for colour correction - G06T 2207/10036: Multispectral image; Hyperspectral image - G06T 2207/30188: Vegetation; Agriculture - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract An image capture device may capture visible and infrared light, and image analysis may be used to generate a map of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of healthy vegetation. Because NDVI data focuses on red and near infrared (NIR) reflectance of plants, NDVI data may be generated using an aircraft-mounted camera with optical filtering to collect various wavelengths. To reduce the size, weight, complexity, and cost of the image analysis system, a multiband optical filter may be used to capture multiple passbands simultaneously. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An aerial multispectral imagery system comprising: a first multichannel image sensor attached to an aerial vehicle to capture a first multispectral filtered image of a vegetation area; a first multiband optical filter attached to the first multichannel image sensor to filter an image of the vegetation area and provide the first multispectral filtered image of the vegetation area to the first multichannel image sensor; and a processor to; generate a first image data set based on the captured first multispectral filtered image, the first image data set including data for a first spectral response curve of a first channel having a first spectral region of interest and data for a second spectral response curve of a second channel having a second spectral region of interest; determine, using the first image data set, a first spectral content in the first spectral region of interest by subtracting from a first channel spectral response a percentage of a second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest, where the percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest; and determine, using the first image data set, a second spectral content in the second spectral region of interest by subtracting from the second channel spectral response a percentage of the first channel spectral response within the first spectral region of interest, where the percentage is a ratio of the second channel spectral response and the first channel spectral response within the first spectral region of interest. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein: the first image data set includes data for a third spectral response curve of a third channel having a third spectral region of interest; and the processor determines, using the first image data set, a first spectral content in the first spectral region of interest by subtracting from the first channel spectral response a first percentage of the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest and a second percentage of a third channel spectral response within the third spectral region of interest, where the first percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest, and the second percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the third channel spectral response within the third spectral region of interest. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein: the first spectral region of interest is a red spectral region, the second spectral region of interest is a blue spectral region, and the third spectral region of interest is a green spectral region. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein: the first spectral region of interest is a red spectral region and the second spectral region of interest is a near infrared spectral region; or the first spectral region of interest is a red edge spectral region and the second spectral region of interest is a near infrared spectral region. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein: the first multichannel image sensor is a 4 channel image sensor, and the first image data set includes data for a third spectral response curve of a third channel having a third spectral region of interest and data for a fourth spectral response curve of a fourth channel having a fourth spectral region of interest. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, wherein: the first spectral region of interest, the second spectral region of interest, the third spectral region of interest, and the fourth spectral region of interest are any four of a red spectral region, a red edge spectral region, a near infrared spectral region, a blue spectral region, and a green spectral region. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the processor uses the first spectral content and the second spectral content to determine a vegetation index. ### Claim 8 A method of aerial multi spectral imagery, comprising: capturing a first multispectral filtered image of a vegetation area, the first multispectral filtered image filtered by a first multiband optical filter and captured by a first multichannel image sensor attached to an aerial vehicle; generating a first image data set based on the captured first multispectral filtered image, the first image data set including data for a first spectral response curve of a first channel hang a first spectra region of interest and data for a second spectral response curve of a second channel having a second spectral region of interest; determining, using the first image data set, a first spectral content in the first spectral region of interest by subtracting from a first channel spectral response a percentage of a second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest, where the percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest; and determining, using the first image data set, a second spectral content in the second spectral region of interest by subtracting from the second channel spectral response a percentage of the first channel spectral response within the first spectral region of interest, where the percentage is a ratio of the second channel spectral response and the first channel spectral response within the first spectral region of interest. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein: the first image data set includes data for a third spectral response curve of a third channel having a third spectral region of interest; and further comprising determining, using the first image data set, a first spectral content in the first spectral region of interest by subtracting from the first channel spectral response a first percentage of the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest and a second percentage of a third channel spectral response within the third spectral region of interest, where the first percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest, and the second percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the third channel spectral response within the third spectral region of interest. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein: the first spectral region of interest is a red spectral region, the second spectral region of interest is a blue spectral region, and the third spectral region of interest is a green spectral region. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein: the first spectral region of interest is a red spectral region and the second spectral region of interest is a near infrared spectral region; or the first spectral region of interest is a red edge spectral region and the second spectral region of interest is a near infrared spectral region. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein: the first multichannel image sensor is a 4 channel image sensor, and the first image data set includes data for a third spectral response curve of a third channel having a third spectral region of interest and data for a fourth spectral response curve of a fourth channel having a fourth spectral region of interest. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein: the first spectral region of interest, the second spectral region of interest, the third spectral region of interest, and the fourth spectral region of interest are any four of a red spectral region, a red edge spectral region, a near infrared spectral region, a blue spectral region, and a green spectral region. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, comprising using the first spectral content and the second spectral content to determine a vegetation index. ### Claim 15 At least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising a plurality of instructions that, responsive to being executed with processor circuitry of a computer-controlled device, cause the computer-controlled device to: capture a first multispectral filtered image of a vegetation area, the first multispectral filtered image filtered by a first multiband optical filter and captured by a first multichannel image sensor attached to an aerial vehicle; generate a first image data set based on the captured first multispectral filtered image, the first image data set including data for a first spectral response curve of a first channel having a first spectral region of interest and data for a second spectral response curve of a second channel having a second spectral region of interest; determine, using the first image data set, a first spectral content in the first spectral region of interest by subtracting from a first channel spectral response a percentage of a second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest, where the percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest; and determine, using the first image data set, a second spectral content in the second spectral region of interest by subtracting from the second channel spectral response a percentage of the first channel spectral response within the first spectral region of interest, where the percentage is a ratio of the second channel spectral response and the first channel spectral response within the first spectral region of interest. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein: the first image data set includes data for a third spectral response curve of a third channel having a third spectral region of interest; and the instructions further causing the computer-controlled device to determine, using the first image data set, a first spectral content in the first spectral region of interest by subtracting from the first channel spectral response a first percentage of the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest and a second percentage of a third channel spectral response within the third spectral region of interest, where the first percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the second channel spectral response within the second spectral region of interest, and the second percentage is a ratio of the first channel spectral response and the third channel spectral response within the third spectral region of interest. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein: the first spectral region of interest is a red spectral region, the second spectral region of interest is a blue spectral region, and the third spectral region of interest is a green spectral region. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein: the first spectral region of interest is a red spectral region and the second spectral region of interest is a near infrared spectral region; or the first spectral region of interest is a red edge spectral region and the second spectral region of interest is a near infrared spectral region. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein: the first multichannel image sensor is a 4 channel image sensor, and the first image data set includes data for a third spectral response curve of a third channel having a third spectral region of interest and data for a fourth spectral response curve of a fourth channel having a fourth spectral region of interest. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein: the first spectral region of interest, the second spectral region of interest, the third spectral region of interest, and the fourth spectral region of interest are any four of a red spectral region, a red edge spectral region, a near infrared spectral region, a blue spectral region, and a green spectral region. ### Claim 21 (depends on 15) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further causing the computer-controlled device to use the first spectral content and the second spectral content to determine a vegetation index.