Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Measuring Spatially- and Directionally-varying Light Scattering from Biological Material
Published on: May 20, 2013
Polarised multiangular reflectance measurements using the finnish geodetic institute field goniospectrometer
Juha Suomalainen1, Teemu Hakala, Jouni Peltoniemi
1Finnish Geodetic Institute, Box 15, 02431 Masala, Finland; E-Mails: teemu.hakala@fgi.fi (T.H.); jouni.peltoniemi@fgi.fi (J.P.); eetu.puttonen@fgi.fi (E.P.).
Abstract:
The design, operation, and properties of the Finnish Geodetic Institute Field Goniospectrometer (FIGIFIGO) are presented. FIGIFIGO is a portable instrument for the measurement of surface Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BRF) for samples with diameters of 10 - 50 cm. A set of polarising optics enable the measurement of linearly polarised BRF over the full solar spectrum (350 - 2,500 nm). FIGIFIGO is designed mainly for field operation using sunlight, but operation in a laboratory environment is also possible. The acquired BRF have an accuracy of 1 - 5% depending on wavelength, sample properties, and measurement conditions. The angles are registered at accuracies better than 2°. During 2004 - 2008, FIGIFIGO has been used in the measurement of over 150 samples, all around northern Europe. The samples concentrate mostly on boreal forest understorey, snow, urban surfaces, and reflectance calibration surfaces.

