Question: Discuss the construction and working principle of whisk broom scanner.

DEDFINITION OF WHISK BROOM SCANNER A whisk broom or spotlight sensor (across track scanner) is a technology for obtaining satellite images with optical cameras. It is used for passive remote sensing from space. In a whisk broom sensor, a mirror scans across the satellites path (ground track), reflecting light into a single detector which collects data one pixel at a time. The moving parts make this type of sensor expensive and more prone to wearing out. Whisk broom scanners have the effect of stopping the scan, and focusing the detector on one part of the swath, typically capturing greater detail in that area. This is also called a close look scanner, comparable to a telephoto lens on a camera.

CONSTRUCTION OF WHISK BROOM SCANNER

A: Rotating Mirror B: Detector C: Angular Field of View (AFOV) D: Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV); ground resolution cell E: View Angle of Swath F: Swath Width

Have moving mirrors or lenses that move to aim and scan across the Earths surface. As the sensor scans, the brightness of the surface at each spot generates an electrical current that varies in intensity. Bright areas generate a stronger voltage than dark areas (at a given wavelength)

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF WHISK BROOM SCANNER Electro-optical and spectral imaging scanners produce digital images with the use of detectors that measure the brightness of reflected electromagnetic energy. Scanners consist of one or more sensor detectors depending on type of sensor system used. One type of scanner is called a whiskbroom scanner also referred to as across-track scanners. It uses rotating mirrors to scan the landscape below from side to side perpendicular to the direction of the sensor platform, like a whiskbroom. The width of the sweep is referred to as the sensor swath. The rotating mirrors redirect the reflected light to a point where a single or just a few sensor detectors are grouped together. Whiskbroom scanners with their moving mirrors tend to be large and complex to build. The moving mirrors create spatial distortions that must be corrected with preprocessing by the data provider before image data is delivered to the user. An advantage of whiskbroom scanners is that they have fewer sensor detectors to keep calibrated as compared to other types of sensors.

A whisk broom scanner utilizes a mirror that sweeps in a direction perpendicular to the flight path. As the mirror sweeps across the path, EMR is directed via the optics into a series of mirrors and prisms. The EMR is split into its various wavelengths and focused onto detectors. Detectors measure EMR from point on ground, storing the value as digital number. Image is built of multiple rows of discrete ground segments called pixels Landsat System uses this approach