Affordable simultaneous hyperspectral imaging

Purpose - The aim of the research project which resulted in this work is to achieve a cost-effective approach for instantaneous hyperspectral imaging.Design methodology approach - This paper presents a simulation study and an experimental evaluation of a novel imaging spectroscopy technique, where multi-channel image data are acquired instantaneously and transformed into spectra by using a statistical modelling approach. A digital colour camera equipped with an additional colour filter array was used to acquire an instantaneous single image that was demosaicked to generate a multi-channel image. A statistical transformation approach was employed to convert this image into a hyperspectral one.Findings - The feasibility of this method was investigated through extensive simulation and experimental tasks where promising results were obtained.Practical implications - The small size of the initially acquired single instantaneous image makes this approach useful for applications where video-rate hyperspectral imaging is required.Originality value - For the first time, a simplified prototype of this novel imaging spectroscopy technique was built and evaluated experimentally. And the results were compared with those of a more ideal simulation study. Recommendations for how to improve the prototype were also suggested as a result of the comparison between the simulation and the prototype evaluation results.