Transaction Fuses Thermal Infrared Sensing, Hyperspectral Data

Thermal remote sensing company ConstellR acquired ScanWorld, a Belgian hyperspectral imagery initiative specializing in Earth-observation agricultural technology applications. In supporting the agricultural Earth-observation sector, the transaction will enable actionable monitoring across the full spectrum of water, carbon, energy, and crop health, ConstellR said. It added that the acquisition represents a step for fusing technological capabilities in the sector.

The companies formalized commercial teaming in September 2021 and will operate under the ConstellR banner moving forward. ScanWorld is an associated corporation with SPACEBEL, a developer of software for space systems.

Thermal infrared imagery allows measurement of water-related features, such as the evapotranspiration of plants and impact of drought, enabling smart crop monitoring as a result. Use cases range from irrigation optimization to soil organic carbon assessment and beyond.

Hyperspectral data is used for organic carbon estimation, early disease identification, and water and fertilizer management.

ConstellR has acquired hyperspectral firm ScanWorld in a move that advances the use of beyond-visual data in smart farming. The companies are based in Germany and Belgium, respectively. Courtesy of SPACEBEL.

Digital smart farming is highly dependent on vegetation indices that draw on visual indicators of crop health, often showing damage rather than mitigable stress symptoms. ConstellR’s thermal monitoring will provide days to weeks earlier warning of crop stress at field level, using temperature as an indicator of plant health. With hyperspectral, the company can go steps further in terms of measurement accuracy and quantification to map and model diverse agricultural characteristics at various scales.

This combination of technologies is ultimately poised to enhance crop yield by better understanding the varying influences of stress at different growth phases, optimizing irrigation via access to both evapotranspiration and soil moisture measurements, detecting disease through changes in leaf and cell structure and photosynthetic activity, and optimizing fertilization practices through a more detailed look at the relations between growth phase, root water uptake, and nitrate supply.

ConstellR launched its first thermal infrared sensing system into orbit in February. The next phase of joint technology and product development is to kick off in the coming months, ConstellR said.