Multi-platform optical remote sensing dataset for target detection

We present the acquisition of a first-of-its-kind high-resolution multi-platform (ground, airborne, and space-borne) remote sensing-based benchmark dataset for target detection studies. The dataset includes imagery acquired from terrestrial hyperspectral imager (THI), airborne hyperspectral sensor (AVIRIS-NG), and space-borne multi-spectral (Sentinel-2) sensor. Five engineered targets of different materials and colours were placed on different surface backgrounds. Besides, in-situ reflectance spectra of the targets were also acquired using a spectroradiometer for serving as a spectral reference source. The airborne and space-borne imagery were processed to remove un-calibrated/noisy bands and were atmospherically corrected using a radiative transfer method based Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH) model. The in-situ target reflectance spectra were resampled to spectrally match with airborne and space-borne imagery. Further, a target region of interest (ROI) was designated for each of the targets in both airborne and space-borne imagery using the known ground position of targets using a GPS device. This article provides a ground to space integrated target detection dataset, including ground positions ROI of the targets, point, and pixel-based in-situ target reference spectra, and the processed airborne and space-borne imagery to make the dataset ready for use. The data acquired in this experiment is an attempt to assess the potential of engineered material target detection in a multi-scale multi-platform view setup. The dataset is a valuable resource for testing and validation of target detection algorithms from various strategic and civilian application perspectives of remote sensing.