A method of measuring the color of a surface may include a device positioned above the surface. The device may include an optical sensor and a display screen. The optical sensor measures visible light level reflected from the surface in a plurality of spectral channels. A plurality of patterns are sequentially displayed on the display screen. The optical sensor is used to measure light reflected by the surface during display of each pattern. A value is determined for the distance from the optical sensor to the illuminated region for a first local maximum of intensity of the measured light reflected by the surface. A location in a color space corresponding to a color of the surface or a reflectance spectrum of the surface is determined based on the visible light level in each spectral channel for the value of the distance corresponding to the first local maximum.

The present technology relates to an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program that perform appropriate exposure control, to thereby enable a desired object to be appropriately imaged. The present technology includes: an imaging unit including a plurality of pixels having different spectral characteristics; and an exposure control unit setting information associated with exposure control on the plurality of pixels depending on specification information for specifying a kind of a measurement target. Alternatively, the present technology includes: an imaging unit including a plurality of pixels having different spectral characteristics; and an exposure control unit setting information associated with exposure control on the plurality of pixels on the basis of a predicted output value of each of the plurality of pixels based on a spectral characteristic related to a measurement target. The present technology is applicable to an imaging apparatus which senses vegetation, for example.

Fourier Transformation Spectrometer, FT Spectrometer, comprising: Michelson-Type Interferometer (601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609) comprising: at least one beam splitter unit designed to split an incident light beam (EB) of a spatially expanded object into a first partial beam (TB1) and a second partial beam (TB2); and for at least partially overlaying the first partial beam (TB1) and the second partial beam (TB2) with a lateral shear (s); a first beam deflection unit designed to deflect the first partial beam (TB1) at least once; a second beam deflection unit designed to deflect the second partial beam (TB2) at least once; wherein at least one among the first beam deflection unit and the second beam deflection unit represents a (2n+1) periscope group with (2n+1) mirror surfaces, and all (2n+1) mirror surfaces are arranged vertically in relation to a common reference plane, in order to respectively deflect the first partial beam (TB1) and/or the second partial beam (TB2) (2n+1) times, and wherein the (2n+1)-fold deflection generates the lateral shear (s) between the first partial beam (TB1) and the second partial beam (TB2), and wherein n is a natural number ≥1.

A multiband IR adjunct (MIRA) sensor to spectroscopically determine the content and the concentration of chemical composition of a targeted object, includes a sensor housing, a first front optics in a first optical channel, a second front optics in the first optical channel, an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF), a photo detector (PD), a set of back optics in the first optical channel that focuses polarized narrow-band light beams received from the AOTF device onto the PD, the PD converting the polarized narrow-band light beams into an electrical signal, and a data acquisition unit signal-connected to the PD, the data acquisition unit collecting the electrical signals. Multiple optical channels can be provided within the housing to analyze UV/VIS/near infrared (NIR), short-wavelength infrared (SWIR), mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR), and LWIR wavelength ranges respectively.

A method of processing two dimensional optical spectra, such as echelle spectra, is disclosed. The optical spectra comprise sections having a relatively high intensity separated by borders having a relatively low intensity. The optical spectra have been digitized (61) by a detector. The method comprises denoising (62) an optical spectrum, searching (64) for at least one series of neighboring local extrema of the optical spectrum, fitting (65) a line through each series of neighboring local extrema, each line representing a section, identifying (67) any peaks and their respective locations, and storing (68) the lines and the locations of any peaks.

A compact spectrometer is disclosed that is suitable for use in mobile devices such as cellular telephones. In preferred embodiments, the spectrometer comprises a filter, at least one Fourier transform focusing element, a micro-lens array, and a detector, but does not use any dispersive elements. Methods for using the spectrometer as an end-user device for performing on-site determinations of food quality, in particular, by comparison with an updatable database accessible by all users of the device, are also disclosed.

Modulation-encoded light, using different spectral bin coded light components, can illuminate a stationary or moving (relative) target object or scene. Response signal processing can use information about the respective different time-varying modulation functions, to decode to recover information about a respective response parameter affected by the target object or scene. Electrical or optical modulation encoding can be used. LED-based spectroscopic analysis of a composition of a target (e.g., SpO2, glucose, etc.) can be performed; such can optionally include decoding of encoded optical modulation functions. Baffles or apertures or optics can be used, such as to constrain light provided by particular LEDs. Coded light illumination can be used with a focal plane array light imager receiving response light for inspecting a moving semiconductor or other target. Encoding can use orthogonal functions, such as an RGB illumination sequence, or a sequence of combinations of spectrally contiguous or non-contiguous colors.

Building blocks are provided for on-chip chemical sensors and other highly-compact photonic integrated circuits combining interband or quantum cascade lasers and detectors with passive waveguides and other components integrated on a III-V or silicon. A MWIR or LWIR laser source is evanescently coupled into a passive extended or resonant-cavity waveguide that provides evanescent coupling to a sample gas (or liquid) for spectroscopic chemical sensing. In the case of an ICL, the uppermost layer of this passive waveguide has a relatively high index of refraction that enables it to form the core of the waveguide, while the ambient air, consisting of the sample gas, functions as the top cladding layer. A fraction of the propagating light beam is absorbed by the sample gas if it contains a chemical species having a fingerprint absorption feature within the spectral linewidth of the laser emission.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for Raman spectroscopy are described. In certain implementations, a spectrometer is provided. The spectrometer may include a plurality of optical elements, comprising an entrance aperture, a collimating element, a volume phase holographic grating, a focusing element, and a detector array. The plurality of optical elements are configured to transfer the light beam from the entrance aperture to the detector array with a high transfer efficiency over a preselected spectral band.

An optical device includes an optical sensor, a dye-based optical filter, and a multi-bandpass optical interference filter. The multi-bandpass optical interference filter is configured to pass a first spectral range of visible light, a second spectral range of visible light, and a third spectral range of visible light. The second spectral range does not overlap with the first spectral range, and the third spectral range does not overlap with the first spectral range and the second spectral range. The multi-bandpass optical interference filter is further configured to prevent passage of a fourth spectral range of near-infrared light. An angle shift associated with each spectral range, of the first spectral range, the second spectral range, and the third spectral range, is less than or equal to 2.0% of a center wavelength of the spectral range for angles of incidence between 0 and 30 degrees.