Provided is an exterior inspection device capable of performing inspections with an optimum white balance at all times. This exterior inspection device A is equipped with a camera 1, an inspection reference plane 2, and a light source 3, the exterior inspection device further comprising: a calibration reference plate 4; an advance/retraction mechanism 5 for advancing and retracting the calibration reference plate 4 between a calibration position within an image-taking area of the camera 1 and a retracted position retracted therefrom; and a control unit for issuing a white balance adjustment command to the camera 1 when the calibration reference plate 4 is at the calibration position. On an occasion of a non-inspection state in which no exterior inspection is being executed, the control unit 6 issues to the advance/retraction mechanism 5 a drive command for moving the calibration reference plate 4 to the calibration position, an adjustment command for adjusting light quantity of the light source 3, and a white balance adjustment command. Therefore, the white balance adjustment can be fulfilled automatically without involving human work.

A light, in particular for testing workpiece surfaces using a fluorescent marking device, which light has at least two lighting elements that emit electromagnetic radiation with different wavelength ranges. The intensity with which the lighting element irradiates can be adjusted separately for at least one of the lighting elements. Expediently, the light is configured to increase or reduce the intensity of at least one of the lighting elements and at the same time to keep the intensity of at least one other of the lighting elements constant, or to reduce it or increase it in the opposite way to the first-mentioned lighting element. The light is configured to adjust the intensity at such a speed that the human eye can adapt to a change in the intensity during the adjustment without adverse effects on the person's sight.

Disclosed is an illumination system for a metrology apparatus and a metrology apparatus comprising such an illumination system. The illumination system comprises an illumination source; and a linear variable filter arrangement configured to filter a radiation beam from said illumination source and comprising one or more linear variable filters. The illumination system is operable to enable selective control of a wavelength characteristic of the radiation beam subsequent to it being filtered by the linear variable filter arrangement.

An optical detecting device includes an image capturing device and a processor. The processor is coupled to a light source and an image capturing device. The processor is configured to adjust a light intensity of the light source for irradiating a correction object in order that a gray value of at least one image block, captured by the image capturing device, of the correction object matches a target correction value, and record a target light intensity while the target light intensity matches the target correction value; control the light source to irradiate light on a testing object with the target light intensity, and control the image capturing device to capture a testing object image of the testing object; and calculate ratios of a target gray value to the gray value of a plurality of pixels of the testing object image to obtain a mapping table.

A spectroscopic camera according to the present disclosure includes a spectroscopic section configured by a variable wavelength interference filter that selectively transmits light at a predetermined wavelength and changes the light to transmitted light, a receiving section configured to receive sensitivity information indicating a sensitivity curve in a wavelength region of a predetermined color imaged by an RGB camera, a wavelength-table generating section configured to generate, based on the sensitivity information, a wavelength table indicating a relation between the predetermined wavelength and a transmission time, which is a time for transmitting the transmitted light, an imaging section configured to acquire a spectral image formed by the transmitted light transmitted through the spectroscopic section, and a control section configured to control the spectroscopic section and the imaging section based on the wavelength table.

An illumination unit comprising a first electromagnetic wave source including circuitry for outputting a first electromagnetic wave in a first direction to illuminate a first region of a sample; a second electromagnetic wave source including circuitry for outputting a second electromagnetic wave in a second direction substantially opposite to the first direction; and a reflector configured to reflect the second electromagnetic wave substantially in the first direction to illuminate a second region of the sample.

In one embodiment, an optical state monitor includes an a light source detection layer for detecting electromagnetic radiation from an associated good. The optical state monitor uses a processor to evaluate the detected radiation, and make a comparison to a pre-defined optical state profile for the good. By making this comparison, the optical state detector is able to determine a quality for the good. In a particular construction, the optical state detector has an integral light source, and the light detection layer is printed as a thin film device. In this way, a stand-alone self-contained sensor is constructed for determining the good's current quality.

Systems and methods here may be used for analyzing images of gemstones to automatically assign a haziness and/or fluorescence grade to the gemstone using contrast analysis on pixelated, digital images of the gemstones.

A method for acquiring images of a part to be inspected comprises the following steps framing the part with a digital video camera providing an illuminator comprising a plurality of illumination sources arranged to illuminate various portions of the part or to illuminate the part from different angles, wherein individual illumination sources or groups of illumination sources are controlled individually by means of an illumination control unit operationally connected to the digital video camera; controlling the video camera to take a series of shots of framed part, with each shot being defined by a preset exposure time with each shot and for the duration of the exposure time generating a part illumination condition through the illumination control unit by activating a portion of the individual illumination sources or groups of illumination sources so the sequence of shots is taken with different corresponding lighting conditions according to a preset lighting program.

A fused imaging device and method are disclosed. The device comprises a light source component, an image capture component, and a control component. The control component may be configured to control the light source component to illuminate a target object based on a preset plurality of first optimal lighting configurations. The control component may further control the image capture component to capture images of the target object to obtain multiple first images, under the illumination of the light source component and generate a target image of the target object, based on the first images. The control component may further adjust the incidence angle, pattern, and wavelength of the light source in the light source component, as well as the exposure, lens focus, and polarization of the image capture component, to detect target object defects in captured images of the target object.