The HyspecIQ project – Hyperspectral Satellite Informatics for More Efficient Exploration and Mining
The HyspecIQ project is the subject of AMIRA project P1147. The principal researchers associated with the project, Joseph D. Fargnoli, Pamela Blake, Tom Cudahy and Adele Seymon, will present public lectures, supported by AIG, describing the project and progress to date in Perth and Brisbane during December. Joseph D. Fargnoli is with HyspecIQ, Washington DC, USA. Pamela Blake is with Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, California, USA. Tom Cudahy is with the CSIRO Mineral Resources Flagship, Western Australia, and Adele Seymon represents AMIRA International, Melbourne.
The lectures will be in the form of “tag-team” talks that will cover the HyspecIQ system, application opportunities and the AMIRA project.
HyspecIQ is a global geoscience analytics and remote sensing informatics business which has contracted with Boeing to develop a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites to be launched from 2018. The HyspecIQ system has two parts, namely: (i) satellite sensors with superior spatial, spectral and radiometric resolutions and high temporal frequency/coverage (initially a <3 day repeat), combined with (ii) “multi-modal interpretation” (MMI) processing capabilities that ingest these satellite data (as well as other geoscience spatial information) to generate highly specific (and accurate) information products. Expedited digital information products will be delivered to clients within 24 hours from image capture. The first two HySpecIQ satellites will measure over 220 spectral bands between 0.4 and 2.5 µm with a <5 m pixel and a signal-to-noise performance targeting NASA’s AVIRIS-NG . Future HyspecIQ satellite systems will be designed to sense at mid-wave infrared, thermal infrared, LIDAR and/or SAR wavelengths, depending on resource industry requirements.
HyspecIQ aims to collaborate with a team of international researchers and the resources sector (private and public) through an AMIRA International project to design an optimum suite of business-critical information products across the mining cycle, from discovery to mine closure. Potential issues include: measurement of mineral alteration footprints like white mica Tschermak substitution, alunite K-Na chemistry, clinozoisite-epidote mineralogy and chlorite Mg number; exploring in poorly accessible/or and data-poor regions; exploring in deep regolith, snow, ice and/or vegetation cover; accurate characterisation of ore/waste in open pit mines and stockpiles during mining; tracking environmental impacts such as dust sources along mining infrastructure; rehabilitation progress of mining affected lands; and measurable indicators for mine closure criteria.
Joseph D. Fargnoli SVP Products, HySpecIQ
Mr. Fargnoli serves as the senior Vice President for Products within HySpecIQ. In this role Joseph is responsible for ensuring that the design and development of information products will address the core business needs of the user community and in the development of the collection and processing technologies to effectively address customer mission requirements.
Joseph’s areas of technical expertise are in the design and development of remote sensing systems particularly with regards to the exploitation of hyperspectral and multispectral phenomenology and in the integration of hyperspectral and multispectral data with imagery and other forms of information from multiple modalities and sources. In particular, Joseph has expertise in the development of informatics solutions incorporating remotes sensing image science with modern analytic architectures and cloud based IT infrastructure.
Joseph holds a BS in Mathematics and MS degree in Electrical Engineering from The State University of New York, MS in Optics from the University of Rochester, an MS in Telecommunications and Computers from the George Washington University and is currently pursuing further advanced graduate studies in remote sensing informatics at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Thomas Cudahy
Tom Cudahy has over 25 years of research experience with CSIRO developing capabilities that deliver mineral information to the resources community from drill core, field, airborne and space-borne systems that measure reflectance/emissivity. Tom has led numerous national and international collaborative research projects (including the Western Australian Centre of Excellence for 3D Mineral Mapping) and been involved with many national and international aerospace technology development teams (including ASTER, Hyperion, SEBASS, HyMap, HISUI). His vision is explorers and miners in Australia empowered with scalable, accurate, digital, 3D mineralogy. His career highlights include: (i) 1st civilian satellite hyperspectral SWIR mineral maps of the Earth (Hyperion at Mount Fitton, South Australia); (ii) 1st seamless digital maps of mineralogy from “fresh to space” (Rocklea Dome, Western Australia)); (iii) 1st continent-scale maps of SWIR and TIR mineralogy (Australian ASTER geosciences maps); (iv) plenary keynote at the 34IGC, Brisbane; (v) tens of thousands of airborne and satelite mineral mapping products of Australia generated by Dr Cudahy and his team downloaded by users from over 40 countries; and (vi) being awarded Australian Mining’s “2012 Explorer of the Year”. Tom has a PhD from Curtin University (1999) and a BSc (Hons) from Macquarie University (1984).
