Pushbroom

Push broom, sometimes written pushbroom, is a cleaning tool with a flat, rectangular head containing many stiff bristles. A long handle is attached to one end, allowing the user to push the broom along a surface to move debris into a pile or toward a dustpan. The design differs from traditional angled brooms in that the bristles are arranged in a continuous block, enabling a wide sweep and close contact with the floor. Push brooms are commonly used for outdoor sweeping on sidewalks, driveways, and job sites, and in industrial settings where rough surfaces or larger debris are present. Bristles are typically made of polypropylene or nylon and are replaceable on many models. Maintenance involves cleaning or replacing worn bristles and occasionally the head.

Pushbroom also refers to a class of line-scan imaging systems used in remote sensing and surveying. A pushbroom sensor contains a single linear array of detectors that captures one image line at a time. As the platform—aircraft, drone, or satellite—moves forward, successive lines are recorded and combined to form a two-dimensional image. The ground sample distance depends on sensor geometry, altitude, velocity, and scan configuration. Pushbroom cameras offer high spatial resolution in the along-track direction and can produce wide swaths with relatively simple optics and good radiometric performance. They require precise navigation and attitude information to maintain geometry and are contrasted with whiskbroom scanners, which use a rotating mirror to sweep the field of view.