Joint feature issue in Optics Express, Applied Optics, and Biomedical Optics Express: computational optical sensing...

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Computational Imaging
• Optical Sensing

Background:

• Computational optical sensing and imaging is a rapidly expanding field.
• It integrates optical design, detection, calibration, physical optical system modeling, signal processing, and machine learning.
• These techniques are used to acquire task-relevant information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To showcase recent advancements in computational optical sensing and imaging.
• To highlight the transition of these technologies from algorithmic demonstrations to practical applications.
• To cover a wide range of sub-fields and emerging applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of selected papers from Optics Express, Applied Optics, and Biomedical Optics Express.
• Focus on the integration of optical design, physical modeling, signal processing, and machine learning.
• Categorization of research across diverse areas like microscopy, biomedical imaging, adaptive optics, LiDAR, and more.

Main Results:

• The issue covers a broad spectrum of computational optical sensing and imaging topics.
• Contributions demonstrate the increasing sophistication and applicability of these techniques.
• Emerging applications in medicine, remote sensing, manufacturing, and environmental metrology are explored.

Conclusions:

• Computationally co-designed optical systems are evolving beyond theoretical demonstrations.
• These systems are becoming robust, application-specific platforms for imaging and sensing.
• The field shows significant promise for diverse real-world applications.