Remote Color Matching Using Spectral Data and Multi-Primary Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for remote high fidelity color reproduction face challenges such as variable illumination, observer metamerism, and limited color gamut, leading to inaccuracies in representing product colors online and in print, resulting in high return rates for products like apparel and shoes.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses spectral color information captured by vendors, communicated to consumers, and displayed on calibrated devices, employing multi-primary displays or adaptive spectral filters to minimize metamerism and ensure accurate color representation, utilizing spectrometers for precise color measurement and optimization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional color reproduction methods (online images, print catalogs) are used, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but color accuracy and fidelity deteriorate significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the color reproduction process into distinct functional modules: spectral measurement (spectrometer), data processing (color space transformation), and display (calibrated device). This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while achieving high overall color accuracy that conventional monolithic approaches cannot attain.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces spectral data and color space transformations as intermediaries between the physical color object and the display device. By measuring the actual spectral reflectance and using this as an intermediary to drive calibrated displays, the system achieves accurate color reproduction without requiring complex real-time adaptive hardware.
2Measurement precision
If spectral measurement and multi-primary display systems are implemented, then color fidelity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital spectral copy of the physical color object using a spectrometer, then reproduces this spectral information through calibrated display devices. This copying approach replaces the need for complex physical color matching systems with digital spectral data representation, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining high fidelity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms color information from physical spectral parameters (reflectance spectra) into standardized color space parameters (XYZ, Lab, or device-specific color spaces). This parameter transformation enables manufacturing of standard calibrated displays rather than custom spectral reproduction systems, reducing manufacturing complexity while preserving color accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If controlled illumination and calibration procedures are applied, then color representation accuracy is improved, but ease of operation and time efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs spectral measurement and calibration procedures as preliminary actions during the product listing phase. By capturing spectral data and establishing color profiles in advance, the system eliminates the need for consumers to perform complex calibration or illumination control during their viewing, maintaining high accuracy while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibrated display device automatically applies the correct color transformation and illumination compensation without requiring user intervention. The system serves itself by using the pre-measured spectral data to automatically adjust display output, eliminating manual calibration steps for end users while maintaining high color representation accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for cost effective, convenient remote color reproduction and matching that can be used to convey color to observers remote to the physical source of color. Such remote observers can include product consumers wishing to view a product color, for example. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises capture of article or product reflectance spectra and the use of this spectrum to filter ambient light or directed light in the environment of a remote user. Other embodiments of methods include various techniques to capture product spectral information and color matching functions useful for color reproduction using colored light sources. Additional systems embodiments include devices exploiting multiprimary displays to render the product color in avoidance of metamerism.