Making Headways In Hyperspectral Imaging Systems

By Patricia Parker


The human eye can distinguish only three primary colors of visible light. This is in contradistinction to computer vision systems, which are capable of distinguishing a greater lineup of color channels. Hyperspectral imaging systems are capable of differentiating spectral domains from infrared to ultraviolet, which enable machine visions to display the reflectance differences that humans cannot see.

This type of imaging is a technique in photography that illustrates the entire band of the color spectrum. In contradistinction to conventional cameras, it proffers an image that has more data and information. Because each cell and pixel of the image is marked out and better illustrated, observers are better able to pinpoint certain objects of interest in the picture.

This type of imaging has found numerous uses and applications in society. Still, its effective use requires a certain sagacity and technological knowhow. One must understand the nature and limitations provided by it, and the various strategies and processes needed to interpret it. For instance, it is a basic to discern that particular objects leave particular fingerprints that establish their identification. For example, bacteria have a unique spectral signature, and so do a wide range of materials from fiber to oil to blood.

Its uses range from areas and applications as diverse as astronomy, pharmaceuticals, medicine, biology, food industry, agriculture, forensics, remote sensing, geosciences, and environmental studies. In astronomy, for example, astroimaging cameras use this selfsame technique to differentiate the cloudy and fuzzy star clusters and galaxies. In molecular biology, this technique is used to compound the effects of dyes and stains by emphasizing the parts and boundaries of cellular forms.

In the area of forensic sciences, HSI identifies convicting evidence like blood and DNA samples and fingerprints. In the brach of medicine, HSI is used to identify certain aberrations such as tumors and foreign elements and substances that cause diseases. Remote sensing and surveillance operations by the military forces use this imaging as well in order to pinpoint targets and locations. In geology and petrology, this is used to scale topography or track undiscovered oil and gas fields.

In agriculture, HSI is availed in seed viability studies, for example, or invasive weed mapping. It is also used specifically in food research to identify defects, determine quality, and locate contaminants, like in the bruise detection of apples, characterization of the freshness of fish, or the sorting of potatoes. In environmental monitoring, it is used in tracking changes in ecology, such as assessing carbon emissions, identifying pollution levels, and more.

For imaging systems and products, there are hyperspectral cameras, which can cover three hundred up to one thousand and seven hundred nanometers in spectral range. If youre after automated sorting and quality control applications, theres the hyperspectral machine vision systems. There are benchtop, outdoor, and airborne systems. Benchtop is for laboratory and industrial use, the outdoor is mounted on a tripod for field use, and the airborne is designed for UAVs and manned aircraft.Accessories like objective lenses, lighting fixtures, analysis software, and scanning stage options are already provided for.

All the fuss is not just about its polychromatic abilities. It has transmuted from an unreliable prototype to one with innumerable, essential uses in a wide array of human activities. With its uses ranging from the identification of single celled bacteria and discovering superclusters of galaxies, this illustrates the powerful potential of scientific endeavors.




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