What is a Multispectral Camera?

A multispectral camera is an advanced imaging device designed to capture light across multiple specific spectral bands, extending beyond the visible light spectrum that human eyes perceive. Unlike standard cameras that typically capture red, green, and blue light, multispectral cameras employ specialized filters, often in a custom Bayer-like mosaic pattern, integrated onto commercial sensors. Each cell in this filter is precisely engineered to capture a distinct spectral band. For example, some models can divide an image into numerous bands within ranges like the Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR). This capability allows them to reveal details and properties of objects or environments that are invisible to the naked eye, leading to enhanced detection, analysis, and precision in various applications.

Applications of Multispectral Cameras

Multispectral cameras are highly versatile tools, providing critical insights across a wide array of fields:

• Agriculture: Essential for precision farming, enabling detailed monitoring of crop health, early detection of plant diseases, assessment of water stress, and optimization of irrigation and fertilization strategies.
• Environmental Monitoring: Used to track ecological changes, monitor forest health, analyze water quality, map pollution, and assess the impact of climate change.
• Military and Defense: Employed for reconnaissance, target identification, camouflage detection, and surveillance by revealing hidden objects or activities through their unique spectral signatures.
• Industrial Machine Vision & Quality Control: Applied in manufacturing for defect detection, material sorting, process monitoring, and ensuring product quality in industries ranging from food processing to semiconductor production.
• Medical Imaging: Provide deeper insights into biological tissues, aiding in disease diagnosis, monitoring treatment efficacy, and non-invasive assessment of various medical conditions.
• Art and Archaeology: Utilized for the non-destructive examination of historical artifacts, revealing faded texts, hidden layers in paintings, and providing insights into artistic techniques or archaeological sites.
• Forensic Analysis: Used in crime scene investigation and laboratory analysis for examining evidence such as bloodstains, fibers, fingerprints, and altered documents.
• Urban Planning & Infrastructure Inspection: Help in analyzing urban green spaces, managing water resources, and inspecting critical infrastructure for maintenance needs.

SILIOS Multispectral Cameras

Axiom Optics parters with SILIOS Technologies to offer a range of high-performance multispectral cameras designed to meet diverse scientific and industrial imaging needs:

• TOUCAN The TOUCAN is a versatile broadband multispectral camera, ideal for applications requiring a broad spectral analysis across the visible and near-infrared (VIS + NIR) ranges, featuring a CMOS sensor.
• CMS & CMS4 The CMS and CMS4 series offer reliable multispectral imaging solutions specifically designed for visible light (VIS) applications, providing clear and precise data for various analytical tasks with their CMOS sensors.
• CICADA The CICADA is a high-resolution SWIR multispectral camera, excelling in applications where detailed analysis within the Short-Wave Infrared spectrum (1100 – 1600 nm) is critical. It features an InGaAs sensor, a resolution of 1296 x 1032 pixels with a 5 µm x 5 µm pixel pitch, a USB interface, and comes in a camera form factor, making it particularly suited for tasks requiring deep material penetration or specific chemical detection.