The Healey Project

We all use color in our daily lives to make important decisions. Our natural color vision is based on three sensors, generally well suited to making distinctions in many natural scenes. Hyperspectral imaging allows us to extend color imaging to multiple wavelength bands, thus making finer distinctions. It finds applications in the military, in airborne monitoring of the health of coral reefs, in manufacturing, and in medical imaging.

The research team at Northeastern University and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, has built a capability for tabletop hyperspectral imaging, with an 8-nanometer spectral resolution across the visible spectrum. Application areas have included medicine and remote sensing.

This study will involve collecting hyperspectral images of small natural scenes, skin, or man-made objects. The research team will use MATLAB and other software packages to collect and analyze data. Techniques such as principal component analysis will be employed. Teachers will gain an understanding of light propagation in complex media, digital optical imaging, development of models and algorithms, and their implementation.