Computer Synthesis of Spectroradiometric Images for Color Imaging Systems Analysis

A technique to perform full spectral based color calculations through an extension of OpenGL has been created. With this extension it is possible to synthesize spectroradiometric images for use in color imaging system analysis. Color in most interactive computer graphics applications is generally determined using the RGB color model. In this model, light sources, and surface properties are descried by their respective RGB triplets. The product of the red, green, and blue values of the light source and the materials then determines the resulting color. This method is prone to large physical errors, and is limited to creating images suitable for display on a RGB display device. This new extension allows for the specification of full spectral material properties such as diffuse and specular reflectance, as well as fluorescent excitation and emission spectra. Light sources are also modeled using the spectral power distribution. The resulting color calculations are more physically accurate than the standard RGB model

By maintaining full wavelength information in color calculations, it is possible to interactively simulate and display many important color phenomena such as metamerism and fluorescence. This technique also provides an interactive method for the simulation of various imaging systems, such as a desktop scanner or photographic film. The resulting image can also be saved at arbitrary spatial and wavelength resolutions.

Now exclusively for the first time, this software is available everywhere. Feel free to download the source code, as well as example datafiles and rgb texture images below. Or perhaps choose to download the full documentation

Please address any comments, questions, bugs, or general correspondance to Garrett