However, there are exciting advances available in hyperspectral imaging that resulted in the development of smaller, powerful, and more mobile hyperspectral cameras. Hyperspectral cameras, like many other photographic technologies, was once limited to bulky equipment with limited applications in the field. This provides for vastly improved classification of the objects in the image based upon individual spectral properties. A hyperspectral camera, by contrast, can capture a larger number of color variances from a few tens to several hundred. Hyperspectral imaging advances camera technology to capture and record far more spectra, and can be programmed to ranges from 380 nm to as high as 2500 nm.Ī normal camera can only capture three separate spectral channels that correspond to the primary visual colors of red, green, and blue. The human eye, for comparison's sake, can only see colors of visible light across three bands. Each pixel in the image contains a continuous spectrum of light that can be used to characterize the objects in the image with a great deal of precision and detail. For example, the material or tissue analyzed can be mapped according to its molecular components.įor each of the individual pixels in an image, the use of a hyperspectral camera allows viewers to acquire the light intensity (or radiance) from a wide array of contiguous spectral bands. Through the analysis of the spectral and spatial information contained in each pixel of the image, it is possible to identify unique spectral signatures and assign them to the components of the sample under investigation. With hyperspectral imaging, you can find objects, identify materials, and detect processes within a given image. On the contrary, multispectral imaging covers only a discrete number of bands, and is often performed with a filter wheel. With unique technology from Photon etc., we are able to obtain bands of 2nm-4nm wide and even 0.3nm. The term hyperspectral imaging refers to the continuous acquisition of narrow bands (< 10 nm) across the electromagnetic spectrum.
As an example, the human eye sees light in three bands (red, green and blue) of the visible spectrum while hyperspectral imaging divides the spectrum in more bands, typically covering the visible and near-infrared range. Hyperspectral imaging is a technique combining spectroscopy and latest digital imaging technology imaging, where each image is acquired at a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Understanding Hyperspectral Imaging and its Applications