Imaging science
Encyclopedia
Imaging science is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the generation, collection, duplication, analysis, modification, and visualization of image
s . As an evolving field it includes research and researchers from physics
, mathematics
, electrical engineering
, computer vision
, computer science
, and perceptual psychology
. The Royal Photographic Society
offers an Imaging Scientist Qualification.
1. The human visual system. Designers must also consider the psychophysical processes which take place in human beings as they make sense of information received through the visual system.
2. The subject of the image. When developing an imaging system, designers must consider the observables associated with the subjects which will be imaged. These observables generally take the form of emitted or reflected energy, such as electromagnetic energy or mechanical energy.
3. The capture device. Once the observables associated with the subject are characterized, designers can then identify and integrate the technologies needed to capture those observables. For example, in the case of consumer digital cameras, those technologies include optics for collecting energy in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and electronic detectors for converting the electromagnetic energy into an electronic signal.
4. The processor. For all digital imaging systems, the electronic signals produced by the capture device must be manipulated by an algorithm which formats the signals so they can be displayed as an image. In practice, there are often multiple processors involved in the creation of a digital image.
5. The display. The display takes the electronic signals which have been manipulated by the processor and renders them on some visual medium. Examples include paper (for printed, or "hard copy" images), television, computer monitor, or projector.
Note that some imaging scientists will include additional "links" in their description of the imaging chain. For example some will include the "source" of the energy which "illuminates" or interacts with the subject of the image. Others will include storage and/or transmission systems.
Subfields within imaging science include: 3D computer graphics
, animations, atmospheric optics
, astronomical imaging, digital image restoration, digital imaging
, color science
, digital photography
, holography
, magnetic resonance imaging
, medical imaging
, microdensitometry, optics
, photography
, remote sensing
, radar imaging, radiometry
, silver halide
, ultrasound imaging, photoacoustic imaging, thermal imaging, visual perception
, and various printing technologies.
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s . As an evolving field it includes research and researchers from physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, computer vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, and perceptual psychology
Perceptual psychology
Perceptual psychology is a subfield of cognitive psychology that is concerned specifically with the pre-conscious innate aspects of the human cognitive system: perception....
. The Royal Photographic Society
Royal Photographic Society
The Royal Photographic Society is the world's oldest national photographic society. It was founded in London, United Kingdom in 1853 as The Photographic Society of London with the objective of promoting the Art and Science of Photography...
offers an Imaging Scientist Qualification.
Imaging chain
The foundation of imaging science as a discipline is the "imaging chain" - a conceptual model describing all of the factors which must be considered when developing a system for creating visual renderings (images). In general, the links of the imaging chain include:1. The human visual system. Designers must also consider the psychophysical processes which take place in human beings as they make sense of information received through the visual system.
2. The subject of the image. When developing an imaging system, designers must consider the observables associated with the subjects which will be imaged. These observables generally take the form of emitted or reflected energy, such as electromagnetic energy or mechanical energy.
3. The capture device. Once the observables associated with the subject are characterized, designers can then identify and integrate the technologies needed to capture those observables. For example, in the case of consumer digital cameras, those technologies include optics for collecting energy in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and electronic detectors for converting the electromagnetic energy into an electronic signal.
4. The processor. For all digital imaging systems, the electronic signals produced by the capture device must be manipulated by an algorithm which formats the signals so they can be displayed as an image. In practice, there are often multiple processors involved in the creation of a digital image.
5. The display. The display takes the electronic signals which have been manipulated by the processor and renders them on some visual medium. Examples include paper (for printed, or "hard copy" images), television, computer monitor, or projector.
Note that some imaging scientists will include additional "links" in their description of the imaging chain. For example some will include the "source" of the energy which "illuminates" or interacts with the subject of the image. Others will include storage and/or transmission systems.
Subfields within imaging science include: 3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, animations, atmospheric optics
Atmospheric optics
Atmospheric optics deals with how the unique optical properties of the Earth's atmosphere cause a wide range of spectacular optical phenomena. The blue color of the sky is a direct result of Rayleigh scattering which redirects higher frequency sunlight back into the field of view of the observer...
, astronomical imaging, digital image restoration, digital imaging
Digital imaging
Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images...
, color science
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
, digital photography
Digital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
, holography
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
, magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
, medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
, microdensitometry, optics
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
, radar imaging, radiometry
Radiometry
In optics, radiometry is a set of techniques for measuring electromagnetic radiation, including visible light. Radiometric techniques characterize the distribution of the radiation's power in space, as opposed to photometric techniques, which characterize the light's interaction with the human eye...
, silver halide
Silver halide
A silver halide is one of the compounds formed between silver and one of the halogens — silver bromide , chloride , iodide , and three forms of silver fluorides. As a group, they are often referred to as the silver halides, and are often given the pseudo-chemical notation AgX...
, ultrasound imaging, photoacoustic imaging, thermal imaging, visual perception
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
, and various printing technologies.
External links
- Carlson Center for Imaging Science at RIT Research center that offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Imaging Science
- The College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona offers an imaging science specialization for the M.S and Ph.D. degree in optical sciences.