Multispectral imaging system and method
US6480273B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 10, 2000 |
| Grant date | Nov 12, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 10, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01J3/0229
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A multispectral imaging system (1) and method utilize an optical processor (3) for simultaneously comparing an input wavelength spectrum observed in a single spatial pixel in a scene image from a multispectral imager (2) with a plurality of template wavelength spectra to find a correlation. The optical processor exploits the three-dimensional attributes of optical correlation to perform massively parallel correlation processing by modulating (4) respective ones of a plurality of spectral bands of the input wavelength spectrum of an incident light beam (6) with modulating elements (5) to alter at least one property of the incident light beam by a value corresponding to the observed intensity of the input spectrum in the respective spectral band. In a disclosed embodiment, the modulated beam is expanded and transited through a spatial light modulator (7) having a two-dimensional array of modulating elements. Each row of the elements of the array alter the at least one property of the incident light by values corresponding to a particular template wavelength spectrum of a plurality of template wavelength spectra of the modulator. The values corresponding to each template spectrum are …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.