Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Estimation based on Filter Augmented Imaging

The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is one of the vegetation indices widely used by researchers from different countries for measuring vegetation in inland areas. NDVI measures the greenness of a plant or area by using radiance and reflectivity of light from the sun to calculate the difference between near-infrared (vegetation strongly reflects) and red light (vegetative absorbs). The information derived from NDVI measurement has increased the probability of a good harvest. However, NDVI equipment is relatively expensive causing challenges to accessibility for low-income farmers in developing countries. By using filter-augmented imaging devices, a low-cost camera can be translated to an NDVI sensor. This study discusses the details of filter augmentation, algorithm development, and validation in comparison with a commercially available multispectral camera for NDVI measurements. The filter-augmented imaging device obtained similar results to commercially available NDVI cameras when the target of interest is a vegetative matter such as leaves and grass.