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Israeli Startup Democratizes Hyperspectral Imaging

NIR portable camera promises a simpler way to monitor plant health
and nutrients, detect pests and pesticide residues, and diagnose plant
diseases. Monarch captures detailed frames in the 700- to 950-nm NIR
spectral range and measures large samples to provide context.
Asked whether Unispectral’s camera could help farmers transi-
tion from curative to preventive agriculture, Raz said the company
has recently completed a proof of concept for the early detection of
contamination in plants before the damage is perceptible to the human
eye. In a greenhouse, such early detection would allow the farmer to
remove the affected plant and prevent contamination of the whole
crop. Unispectral has also developed a proof of concept for the detec-
tion of insufficient fertilizer application, which would give farmers an
early indication of a mechanical malfunction or other problem.
Farming is a 24/7 job, and it’s critical to make timely decisions.
If farmers miss the perfect planting window in their geographic area,
the result is a lower crop yield. When farmers must send samples to
external labs and then wait days to get the results, as is generally the
case today, precious time is lost. “By the time they get [the infor-
mation back], there is nothing they can do; it’s too late,” said Raz.
Having the lab “in the palm of your hand is a game changer,” letting
farmers instantly access meaningful insights and make real-time
The ColorIR filter (Source: Unispectral) decisions in the field.

“Developers in many industries can integrate Monarch in their
products because it is already a spectral camera with some on-board
processing, easy connectivity, and an easy-to-use API,” said Raz. “It can
fit many platforms without going through the very tedious develop-
ment cycle of the camera.”
Raz said spectral imaging drives better AI. The optical MEMS
component acts as a tunable filter, and the software — an image-
fusion library — supports the component and extracts all the relevant
information from the image. “By combining our optical MEMS compo-
nent and algorithms, the camera makes the transition from seeing to
sensing,” he said.
Customers are currently evaluating Monarch in different industries
and geographic regions, said Raz, adding that Unispectral has manufac-
turing partners to “support scale.”

DATA IN THE PALM OF THE HAND
Unispectral claims its technology can be applied in any area of human
activity, from agricultural inspection to industrial quality control,
facial authentication, computer vision, vehicle safety, and health The Monarch camera (Source: Unispectral)
monitoring. With its NIR tunable filter and NIR spectral camera,
Unispectral aims to lower the barrier to entry for camera-based appli-
cations and use cases. CAPTURING OPPORTUNITIES
“It can be integrated in any platform that needs to address the ques- At the time of its inception, Unispectral raised US$7.5 million in a
tion, ‘What do I see?’ and act on the answer,” said Raz. round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners, Robert Bosch Venture Capital,
One initial target has been smartphone front-camera facial authen- Samsung Catalyst Fund, and the Tel Aviv University Technology Inno-
tication. Because of the limited space on the surface of a smartphone, vation Momentum Fund. “We established the company, built a team,
sensors cannot be indefinitely added. A spectral camera can perform and it took us years to develop a new type of MEMS component,” said
eye recognition, eye scanning, and face mapping all in the same unit, Raz. “It’s not like we took it off the shelf and optimized it. We overcame
according to Unispectral. The company says that NIR facial authenti- a lot of technical challenges. It was a long and complicated journey.
cation guarantees a higher level of security and robustness than visible “The fun part starts now,” he continued. “We have developed the
spectrum authentication and 3D solutions. technology in the lab and now [can] start seeing how it really improves
In the medical domain, the integration of Unispectral’s NIR filter day-to-day life and how customers can integrate it into their products
can help monitor vital signs, perform vein detection, and support and gain a competitive edge.”
contactless examination and diagnosis. A diabetic patient with an Unispectral, which employed 15 people when this article was
open wound, for example, could send a photo of the wound and a written, is expanding into international markets. In addition to its
current blood-oxygenation reading to a doctor for remote evaluation Tel Aviv headquarters, it has established a subsidiary in China. It also
and advice on treatment. has sales representatives in Germany, South Korea, and Hong Kong,
Precision agriculture is another potential application. A raft of and discussions are under way with distributors in the U.S. and U.K. ■
sensors are already being used to measure soil humidity/moisture
levels and soil/air temperatures, but Unispectral says its Monarch Anne-Françoise Pelé is editor-in-chief of EE Times Europe.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | www.eetimes.eu