Researchers from the University of Cambridge and GlitterinTech, a startup founded by the same research group, have unveiled a fundamentally new type of optical spectrometer that delivers laboratory-grade precision in a device small enough to be embedded in portable and wearable technologies. By rethinking how spectra are measured and processed, the team has demonstrated a spectrometer costing only around $10, operating at a centimeter scale, and capable of applications ranging from industrial quality control to real-time health care monitoring.
  • ranzispa@mander.xyzEnglish
    4·
    2 hours ago

    I guess spectral recognition is cheaper and more accurate than image recognition now.

    There you go, welcome for your new research area or business opportunity.

  • Fizz@lemmy.nzEnglish
    141·
    8 hours ago

    The chemical sensors on my smart watching begging me to stop dipping my hand into the unknown chemical bucket at work.

  • DrakeAlbrecht@lemmy.worldEnglish
    272·
    15 hours ago

    Unlike conventional spectrometers, which rely on dispersing light or algorithmic reconstruction to recover spectra, the convolutional spectrometer physically performs a convolution operation on the incoming light. This is achieved using a simple cascade of optical components with periodic spectral responses, such as unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometers or micro-ring resonators.

    Is this thing a spectrometer or a fucking turbo encabulator?

    • davad@lemmy.worldEnglish
      26·
      14 hours ago

      I’ve worked with spectrometers and on spectrometry design before, and that quote from the article is intelligible. It’s also pretentious and poorly explained.

      • fonix232@fedia.io
        5·
        3 hours ago

        I’ve never worked with spectrometers but physics and chemistry were some of my strongest subjects, so it made some sense to me - but the sentence was definitely written with the intent to say “look peons, I know big science words you do not, and I can string them into a sentence you’ll question the legibility of”.

  • davad@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    14 hours ago

    The writing in the linked article is a little weird, as others have pointed out. However the journal publication is very cool. If this is reproducible, it’ll likely have a noticeable impact over the next 10 years or so. We won’t see $10 spectrometers, but we might see handheld ones in a similar format to the cheap IR cameras.

    Here’s the link for anyone interested.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-026-01891-6

    • drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      1·
      3 hours ago

      If you’re familiar with this kind of stuff, do you think this could lead to cheaper and smaller hyperspectral cameras?

  • icerunner_origin@startrek.websiteEnglish
    192·
    15 hours ago

    such as unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometers or micro-ring resonators

    It has a base-plate of prefamulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing, aligned in such a way that the 2 main spurving bearings are in-line with the pentameter fan.

    • naeap@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      4·
      2 hours ago

      I was so hyped for this thing …
      Then I got it and well, I wasn’t impressed

      Thought, this could lead to check chemicals on the go. Like checking if drugs are contaminated and things like that.
      But it didn’t even got the basics to work…

      Well, was a lesson learned at least