Smartphone Lens Attachment for Multispectral Plant Health Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current smartphone cameras are limited in their ability to perform multispectral imaging for plant health analysis due to their restricted color bands, making them unsuitable for accurate plant stress and nutrition level prediction, and existing multispectral camera solutions are expensive, slow, or difficult to calibrate.
Innovation Solution
A smartphone attachment with a multispectral lens system that captures multiple images through lenses with different filters, using pixel-to-pixel matching for calibration, allowing for the construction of a multispectral image with additional near-infrared bands, enhancing sensitivity and precision in plant health analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If standard RGB camera is used in smartphone, then device portability and cost are maintained, but multispectral imaging capability for plant health analysis is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The camera system is segmented into multiple lens units, each equipped with different spectral filters. This allows the single camera to capture multiple spectral bands simultaneously by dividing the imaging function across multiple optical paths, enabling multispectral imaging capability while maintaining smartphone portability
Solution Approach 2:
The smartphone camera is enhanced to perform multiple functions: standard RGB imaging and multispectral plant health analysis. By integrating multiple lenses with different filters onto a single camera platform, the device achieves multi-functionality without requiring separate specialized cameras for each application
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple lenses with filters are integrated into smartphone attachment, then multispectral imaging capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple lens units with different spectral filters are merged into a single attachment assembly that interfaces with one smartphone camera. This combining approach consolidates what would otherwise be separate imaging devices into one integrated unit, managing complexity while expanding color bands coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces calibration algorithms and software processing as intermediary elements that manage the complexity of multiple lens inputs. These intermediaries process and align the multiple image streams, transforming the complex multi-lens data into usable multispectral images without requiring complex hardware adjustments
3Measurement precision
If pixel-to-pixel matching calibration is implemented, then measurement precision is improved, but processing time and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The calibration process is performed in advance during system setup or initialization, creating lookup tables and alignment parameters before actual plant health analysis. This preliminary calibration stores the transformation data needed for pixel-to-pixel matching, so that during field use, the pre-computed alignment data is simply applied rather than calculated in real-time, reducing processing time
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables cost-effective, high-precision plant health analysis by capturing multispectral images with increased color bands, improving predictions of plant stress and nutrition levels, and facilitating data processing for regional crop monitoring and yield prediction.
Implementation Method 1
a lens system, the lens system is composed of multiple lenses which allow the camera to simultaneously capture multiple image copies of an object of interest
Implementation Method 2
A plurality of selected filters is applied to each of the corresponding lenses
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging system for a smartphone includes a housing configured to rigidly attach to a handheld smartphone device. The system further includes an arm extending from the housing, wherein the arm is configured to be adjustable such that the arm is movable toward and away from the housing. Additionally, the system includes a sample mounting portion attached to the arm, the mounting portion having a retaining device, wherein the retaining device is configured to secure a target sample, the mounting portion configured to direct an image of the target sample to a first camera in the handheld smartphone device.