This Camera Sees What Your Eyes Can't | Innovation | Smithsonian

Originally shared by Rob Jongschaap

This Camera Sees What Your Eyes Can't | Innovation | Smithsonian

'One day, in the not-too-distant future, we may all carry cameras in our pockets that can see far beyond what our eyes are capable of.

That’s the goal of a team of researchers at the University of Washington who, working in conjunction with Microsoft, has developed an affordable hyperspectral camera they call HyperCam.

The human eye, while dazzling in its complexity, can only see a limited range. Of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, our eyes only perceive three color bands—red, green and blue. So scientists have long used hyperspectral imaging—a technology that carves the electromagnetic spectrum into hundreds of bands to create detailed data images beyond what the eye can see—for a variety of purposes. It's used in agriculture and mining to look at things like the mineral content and moisture level of soil. In aerial hyperspectral photographs, certain types of soil or minerals will have specific spectral signatures that form patterns. Food safety inspectors can use hyperspectral cameras to assess foods for nutritional content or contamination by a non-food material.'

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/camera-sees-what-your-eyes-cant-180957036/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/camera-sees-what-your-eyes-cant-180957036/