Provided herein are algorithms and processes to extract endmembers from hyperspectral image data in real time. A Simplex Growing Algorithm is effective to estimate a p number of endmembers to be generated, to select one or more initial endmembers as a simplex of k members and to add a k+1 endmember to the simplex that yields a maximum simplex volume until k=p, thereby extracting one or more endmembers from the data. Alternatively, N-FINDR algorithms form an initial simplex set of p endmembers obtained from the hyperspectral image data, find a maximum volume of one or more initial p endmembers therewithin, replace one or more of the p endmembers within the simplex with one or more of the found p endmembers of maximum volume, and refind a maximum volume of p endmember(s) and replace p endmember(s) until no increase in p endmember(s) volume is found.