Principles of Light and Color Measurement

The properties of light that stimulate the eye and build our visual perception—when thoughtfully designed into lighted devices—can create unrivalled visual experiences. Thanks to well-established scientific methods, we can quantify the human eye's response to light in a mathematical context for use in optical metrology. Light measurement systems like imaging photometers and colorimeters use CIE-matched optical filters and scientific-grade imaging sensors to apply these methods, capturing meaningful data that guide human-centric design and evaluation of many of today's devices. Using photometric technology, manufacturers can leverage the standard principles of light and color measurement in design and production to best assess the visual quality of displays, backlit components, and light sources—as they are actually seen and experienced by human users. This provides manufacturers with the means to achieve absolute product quality.

Shannon Roberts, Product Manager at Radiant Vision Systems, presents the basic principles of light and color measurement. In this presentation, Shannon discusses the foundations of photometry and colorimetry, and introduce photometric technologies that leverage these principles to accurately quantify the human visual response to ensure quality in light and display products. Topics include:

-- How the human eye responds to light and color
-- Quantifying color based on CIE tristimulus curves
-- Technology designed to replicate human visual response
-- Optical metrology systems and benefits of imaging for light measurement