All-in-one: A spectral imaging laboratory system for standardised automated image acquisition and real-time spectral model deployment

Abstract

Spectral imaging (SI) in analytical chemistry is widely used for the assessment of spatially distributed physicochemical properties of samples. Although massive development in instrument and chemometrics modelling has taken place in the recent years, the main challenge with SI is that available sensors require extensive system integration and calibration modelling before their use for routine analysis. Further, the models developed during one experiment are rarely useful once the system is reintegrated for a new experiment. To avoid system reintegration and reuse calibrated models, this study presents an intelligent All-In-One SI (ASI) laboratory system allowing standardised automated data acquisition and real-time spectral model deployment. The ASI system supplies a controlled standardised illumination environment, an in-built computing system, embedded software for automated image acquisition, and model deployment to predict the spatial distribution of sample properties in real-time. To show the capability of the ASI framework, exemplary cases of fruit property prediction in different fruits are presented. Furthermore, ASI is also benchmarked in performance against the current commercially available portable as well as high-end laboratory spectrometers.

Keywords: Automation; Chemometrics; Deployment; Post-harvest; Spectroscopy.