The ambition of the One-Pix1 kit is to make hyperspectral imaging as widely available as possible, by making this technology accessible through ease of use and affordability. Targeting research teams and academics in particular, it brings together a scientific community and offers them an open source solution for sharing and continuous improvement.
Hyperspectral imaging involves measuring more than a hundred images of a scene, each at different wavelengths. This provides fine spatial and spectral information about the scene. The One-Pix kit is a hyperspectral camera using a new, unconventional imaging method known as single-pixel imaging. It reconstructs an image from a single detector by projecting structured patterns. It transforms a simple spectrometer into a hyperspectral camera operating indoors in the visible spectral range. However, it can also be extended into the near infrared to analyze the red front of plant scenes. Generally speaking, its applications are diverse: precision agriculture, optical sorting, surface characterization and materials analysis, pharmacology, geology/mining, medical diagnostics and guided surgery, etc.
Several offers are available to future users, ranging from do-it-yourself hardware kits to calibrated turnkey kits. Its 5000C price tag is a major advantage over other solutions on the market, which require a tenfold investment. Economical and easily accessible, the One-Pix kit is a genuine teaching tool. It is the ideal ally for teachers and students to demonstrate and discover spectral imaging, Fourier optics, image processing/machine learning, spectroscopy, etc. It is also of great interest for research: compressed imaging, unconventional imaging, shared platform for joint experiments, creation of databases (agronomy, environment, geology, health, etc.), etc.
Operating principle
The One-Pix kit contains a video projector and a fibered spectrometer with superimposed fields of view. The One-Pix technology involves projecting a series of structured images (based on Bernoulli, Hadamard or Fourier patterns) onto a scene to be imaged. A spectrometer measures the average reflected spectrum of the scene for each projection. An algorithm then reconstructs the hypercube of the scene from all the spectra measured during acquisition, so image resolution improves as data is collected. The Raspberry Pi board ensures synchronization between pattern projections and spectrometer measurements. This modular kit can be used with different spectrometers.
An open-source kit
This kit is associated with an open-source repository on the GitHub platform. This repository contains the documentation you need to build your own One-Pix hardware kit, as it was developed with the primary aim of being assembled in a standard laser-cutting fablab. Little wiring (all low-voltage) and no soldering is required. The repository also contains all the algorithms for measuring hyperspectral images. The repository also houses all scripts, which are kept up to date. One-Pix is designed to allow easy implementation of user developments, enabling continuous improvement of the instrument's ergonomics and technical specifications. The aim is to create a space for adoption, dissemination and collaboration within a community of users.
One-Pix vs Pro-Pix
The One-Pix kit was designed for indoor use only. A higher-performance version - Pro-Pix - is currently being developed as a demonstrator. The integration of other, more robust components will enable the Pro-Pix to operate in outdoor or industrial environments. It will also be based on algorithms already available on GitHub. Market launch is already scheduled for 2023.
Marketed under a new brand: Pop
To market these two new products - One-Pix and Pro-Pix - Photonics Bretagne has created a new brand called Pop (Photonics Open Projects).
More generally, Pop is used to promote collaboration between Photonics Bretagne and Arvalis - Institut du végétal in the development of innovative agrophotonic products.