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A number of links are provided to sites on the web to assist the visitor in learning more about the basic science used by Spectral Masters, Inc., or SMI. These links are not offered as a tutorial or an exhaustive listing, but rather as a starting place for the curious.
THE BASIC PHYSICAL PHENOMENA
SMI's hyperspectral technology makes reproducible measurements of specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, or EMS. Generally known as Light, the measured energy bands extend from the ultraviolet into the infrared and SMI relies upon phenomena of nature to make the measurements used to create images for graphical, medical and defense applications.
The four principle phenomena used by SMI are Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction and Dispersion.
SMI generally uses reflection to guide or bend the rays of light we are measuring through an optical path, from a source to a sensor. It is the natural phenomenon associated with mirrors.
Refraction takes the light rays and passes or deflects them through dissimilar material, such as air and glass, at an angle. It is the natural phenomenon associated with lenses.
Diffraction modifies the angle of light rays by passing them through narrow slits or over ruled or grooved surfaces. It is the natural phenomenon associated with diffraction gratings.
Dispersion is the process of spreading light rays into bands humans perceive as hue or color. It is the natural phenomenon associated with prisms.
SMI places special emphasis on visible, or VIS light. This is the section of the EMS that humans perceive through the sense of sight as color vision. Central to making reproducible measurements in the VIS bands is the International Illumination Commission, or CIE, the scientific body that establishes standards for measuring or numerically specifying color. SMI's imaging systems are the only ones commercially available able to make measurements consistent with CIE standards.
THE BASIC PHYSICAL PHENOMENA
SMI's hyperspectral technology makes reproducible measurements of specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, or EMS. Generally known as Light, the measured energy bands extend from the ultraviolet into the infrared and SMI relies upon phenomena of nature to make the measurements used to create images for graphical, medical and defense applications.
The four principle phenomena used by SMI are Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction and Dispersion.
SMI generally uses reflection to guide or bend the rays of light we are measuring through an optical path, from a source to a sensor. It is the natural phenomenon associated with mirrors.
Refraction takes the light rays and passes or deflects them through dissimilar material, such as air and glass, at an angle. It is the natural phenomenon associated with lenses.
Diffraction modifies the angle of light rays by passing them through narrow slits or over ruled or grooved surfaces. It is the natural phenomenon associated with diffraction gratings.
Dispersion is the process of spreading light rays into bands humans perceive as hue or color. It is the natural phenomenon associated with prisms.
SMI places special emphasis on visible, or VIS light. This is the section of the EMS that humans perceive through the sense of sight as color vision. Central to making reproducible measurements in the VIS bands is the International Illumination Commission, or CIE, the scientific body that establishes standards for measuring or numerically specifying color. SMI's imaging systems are the only ones commercially available able to make measurements consistent with CIE standards.
WHITE PAPERS, COMPARISONS AND PRESENTATIONS
HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING: THE COLORIMETRIC HIGHGROUND (Electronic Imaging '03 Conference Paper) - Color perception is one of the few truly intuitive capabilities possessed by a typical human. Unlike learning to speak or operating the graphical user interface of a computer, it just happens. However, communicating the perception to another person is not intuitive and requires, at a minimum, training, or, as the communication becomes more sophisticated, measurement. . .
YELLOW SLIDE MINI-SHOOT-OUT EXPERIMENT - This experiment uses standard Delta E '76 calculations to objectively determine differences in color measuring accuracy exhibited by a group of scanners and ranks devices from most accurate to least accurate.
HYPERSPECTRAL TECHNOLOGY SLIDE PRESENTATION - Spectral Masters' innovative technology is the first significant improvement to color image capture since James Clark Maxwell demonstrated the trichromatic process in 1861. This slide presentation reviews the current state of the art and introduces Hyperspectral Technology concepts and solutions.
PATENTS
HYPERSPECTRAL SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING GRAPHICAL IMAGES - NO.: US 6,771,400, issued 3 August 2004, filed with the USPTO 18 March 2002, published 31 October 2002, Pub. No.: US 2002/0159098 A1, claiming filing date 16 March 2001 per provisional application No. 60/276,079.
HYPERSPECTRAL SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING GRAPHICAL IMAGES - filed under the PCT of the World Intelledctual Property Organization 18 March 2002, published 2 October 2003, Pub. No.: WO 03/081191 A1.
SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING GRAPHICAL IMAGES USING HYPERSPECTRAL ILLUMINATION - filed with USPTO 9 January 2004, Pub. No.: US 2004/0141213 A1, published 22 July 04, claiming filing date 9 January 2003 per provisional application No. 60/438,909.
HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING: THE COLORIMETRIC HIGHGROUND (Electronic Imaging '03 Conference Paper) - Color perception is one of the few truly intuitive capabilities possessed by a typical human. Unlike learning to speak or operating the graphical user interface of a computer, it just happens. However, communicating the perception to another person is not intuitive and requires, at a minimum, training, or, as the communication becomes more sophisticated, measurement. . .
YELLOW SLIDE MINI-SHOOT-OUT EXPERIMENT - This experiment uses standard Delta E '76 calculations to objectively determine differences in color measuring accuracy exhibited by a group of scanners and ranks devices from most accurate to least accurate.
HYPERSPECTRAL TECHNOLOGY SLIDE PRESENTATION - Spectral Masters' innovative technology is the first significant improvement to color image capture since James Clark Maxwell demonstrated the trichromatic process in 1861. This slide presentation reviews the current state of the art and introduces Hyperspectral Technology concepts and solutions.
PATENTS
HYPERSPECTRAL SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING GRAPHICAL IMAGES - NO.: US 6,771,400, issued 3 August 2004, filed with the USPTO 18 March 2002, published 31 October 2002, Pub. No.: US 2002/0159098 A1, claiming filing date 16 March 2001 per provisional application No. 60/276,079.
HYPERSPECTRAL SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING GRAPHICAL IMAGES - filed under the PCT of the World Intelledctual Property Organization 18 March 2002, published 2 October 2003, Pub. No.: WO 03/081191 A1.
SYSTEM FOR CAPTURING GRAPHICAL IMAGES USING HYPERSPECTRAL ILLUMINATION - filed with USPTO 9 January 2004, Pub. No.: US 2004/0141213 A1, published 22 July 04, claiming filing date 9 January 2003 per provisional application No. 60/438,909.