Compressive Sensing and Hyperspectral Imaging

Compressive sensing (sampling) is a novel technology and science domain that exploits the option to sample radiometric and spectroscopic signals at a lower sampling rate than the one dictated by the traditional theory of ideal sampling. In the paper some general concepts and characteristics regarding the use of compressive sampling in instruments devoted to Earth observation is discussed. The remotely sensed data is assumed to be constituted by sampled images collected by a passive device in the optical spectral range from the visible up to the thermal infrared, with possible spectral discrimination ability, e.g. hyperspectral imaging. According to recent investigations, compressive sensing necessarily employs a signal multiplexing architecture, which in spite of traditional expectations originates a significant SNR disadvantage.