Invention:
Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a technique for providing an absolute radiance calibration for a hand-held spectroradiometer that connects to a smart phone. The technique was designed with art museums in mind, but is also extremely useful for cell phone cameras that utilize a hardware driven optical image stabilizer that moves the image on the detector plane for better image stabilizing.
Background:
Art museums use spectroradiometers to evaluate the degradation of paint on artwork that hangs in a museum for long periods of time. Currently, the spectroradiometers are either bulky such that the artwork must be moved to a lab for inspection, or require complex calibration techniques that only provide relative spectral calibration, not absolute. Most museums cannot afford expensive time consuming techniques for analyzing the deterioration of artwork. Their need for an inexpensive, fast, and accurate spectroradiometer was the driving force behind our researchers' invention.
Advantages:
- Provides absolute spectral calibration
- Easy to use and inexpensive
- Handheld so no need to move the item to a lab
Applications:
- Artwork inspection
- Fabric inspection and quality control
- Paint inspection
- Image stabilizers in cell phone cameras
Status: issued U.S. patent #10,514,335
