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| Image: Unispectral/Tel Aviv University |
How can you come to know about the chemical composition of
something ? By experiments or something, Right?
But if i said its as easy as taking a snapshot with your smartphone camera. You may eventually be able to, thanks to a compact
hyperspectral imaging camera being developed at Tel Aviv University.
This Hyperspectral imaging
involves scanning light spectra not visible to the human eye, for identifying the various kinds of unique electromagnetic "fingerprints" of various
substances and processes.
A team led by Tel Aviv's Prof. David Mendlovic is developing a much
smaller optical component that could conceivably be built into a
smartphone. It utilizes MEMS (microelectromechanical systems)
technology, and is reportedly "suitable for mass production and
compatible with standard smartphone camera designs."
In order for the images it captures to mean anything, however, it would
need to be paired up with a database of different substances'
hyperspectral signatures (the earlier-mentioned fingerprints). "The
optical element acts as a tunable filter and the software – an image
fusion library – would support this new component and extract all the
relevant information from the image," explained Mendlovic.
A working prototype is reportedly in the works, and should be ready by
June. The basic system has already been demonstrated at the Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona last month.
The technology is currently being developed under the name Unispectral, by the university's Ramot
tech transfer company. Its suggested applications include consumer
electronics, the automotive industry, biotechnology, and homeland
security.
Source: Tel Aviv University
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