A team of researchers from Microsoft Research and the University of Washington have recently unveiled an advanced hyperspectral camera that is able to capture several parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, including near-infra-red light. This means that it can capture details that we can’t see with other cameras or even with the naked eye, details such as a person’s skin patterns or veins. It’s also worth noting that researchers scanned avocados using the camera and managed to detect if they were actually ripe or not, all with a success rate of 94%. Similar gear is usually quite expensive, so expensive in fact that only private organizations or the military can afford to install and use them. The camera that I’m talking about could cost just $50, which is definitely affordable.
Dubbed Hypercam, the gear works by capturing 17 different images of an object at different points of the spectrum. Afterward, a specialized software merges the images in order to reveal details that couldn’t normally be detected with regular cameras. Now that the camera has been revealed officially, its creators are working on miniaturizing it in order to make sure that users will be able to install it onto their smartphones. Reports suggest that the camera doesn’t work very well in bright light, which is why its creators are currently working on a few moddifications.
