What is the advantage of a camera system that goes beyond RGB and can measure or estimate spectra?
Modern vision and imaging applications rely on interpretation of information acquired by an image sensor. Typically the sensor is designed to emulate human vision, resulting in a color or monochrome image of the field of view as seen by the eye. This is accomplished by sensing light at wavelengths in the visible spectrum (400-700 nm). However, additional information can be gained by creating an image based on the light that is outside the sensitivity of the human eye. The information available can be maximized by combining information found in multiple spectral bands. The photonic spectrum includes energy at wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet through the visible, near infrared, far infrared, and finally, x-rays. The color image from a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) array is acquired by sensing the wavelengths corresponding to red, green, and blue light. CCD sensors are capable of detecting light beyond the visible wavelengths out to 1100 nm. The wavelengths from 700 nm to 1100 nm ar
