Spectral Characterization of a Prototype SFA Camera for Joint Visible and NIR Acquisition

Area of Science:

• Optics and Machine Vision
• Sensor Technology
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Multispectral imaging captures more surface property information than traditional color imaging.
• Spectral filter arrays enable compact, single-shot multispectral acquisition.
• Previous systems lacked broad spectral coverage across visible and Near-Infrared (NIR) ranges due to manufacturing challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel prototype camera capable of simultaneous multispectral acquisition.
• To demonstrate a camera design integrating seven visible and one NIR band on a single sensor.
• To introduce a calibration method for characterizing the multispectral sensor.

Main Methods:

• Development of a prototype camera utilizing spectral filter arrays.
• Integration of seven visible and one NIR spectral bands onto a single sensor chip.
• Implementation of a sensor calibration procedure for accurate data acquisition.

Main Results:

• Successful achievement of a prototype camera for multispectral imaging.
• Acquisition of seven visible and one NIR band images on the same sensor.
• Provision of captured image data and calibration information as supplementary material.

Conclusions:

• The developed prototype camera enables broad-spectrum multispectral acquisition in a compact design.
• This technology advances machine vision capabilities for enhanced object analysis.
• Potential applications span security, robotics, automotive, and medical fields.