Hyperspectral Vision Specim

HYPERSPECTRAL VISION

Finland-based Specim, a leading supplier of hyperspectral imaging, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. Over the years the company has become a trusted partner, providing superb quality and cost efficiency to companies around the world.

Specim, Spectral Imaging Oy Ltd, established in 1995, is the world’s leading manufacturer of hyperspectral imaging instruments and systems. Headquartered in Oulu, Finland and with sales offices in the U.S. and China, the company has been at the forefront with new and advanced technological solutions applied to hyperspectral imaging and with products reaching the pinnacle of precision, durability and functionality.

As a pioneer in the commercial production of hyperspectral products, Specim attaches particular importance to exactly meeting the requirements of industry. This means that all products are manufactured to be particularly robust and in line with industrial standards, in order to provide maximum ease of installation in industrial environments.

Specim product design is driven by its customers’ demand for fast and accurate information and a high return on investment, as they strive to gather information to improve quality, increase value, and make sustainable choices. The products are used globally by OEM customers in machine vision systems, inspecting food or pharmaceuticals production quality, sorting waste, or measuring printed colour accuracy, as well as by research laboratories and research teams in private, academic, and government organizations.

Moving boundaries

Specim’s vision of ‘Spectral imaging made easy’ means that its customers can rely on the scalability of its technology and on increasing ease of implementation through ‘out of the box’ solutions, allowing them to keep improving the performance and competitiveness of their solutions and develop application solutions quicker and with fewer technical skills.

With its SpecimONE spectral imaging platform the company has revolutionized hyperspectral technology adaptation to industrial sorting applications. With SpecimONE machine builders, vision systems integrators and other OEM’s can classify different materials based on their spectral signature off-line and apply those classification models into an in-line system in real-time. The result is a new industrial sorting application without coding or in-depth knowledge of spectral imaging.

Also for industrial use, the company launched the first hyperspectral camera specifically designed for industrial machine vision – the Specim FX Series. Small, fast and affordable, the camera gives reliable classification results based on the target’s chemical composition. This non-contact, non-destructive optical method offers 100% imaging coverage. You can inspect a variety of end-products and different system properties without changing the camera.

Specim’s latest solutions include the Specim IQ Hyperspectral Imaging Camera - a portable hyperspectral camera, where data capturing, data processing and result visualisation are integrated into a one ready-to-use package. The camera is able to screen the imaging target and show the results on the camera display in just seconds. The weight of the camera, just 1.3 kg, containing a chargeable battery and a memory card for data storage, allows true portability for imaging in locations where it has not been possible before.

Member of a global group

The hyperspectral imaging market is at an inflection point of rapid industrial growth, enabled by the rising adoption of machine vision. More and more machine builders are embracing the benefits of upgrading from visual cameras to hyperspectral imaging, with resulting improvements in quality, productivity and efficiency for their industrial end-users. Specim has capitalised on this to grow its business, by offering optimised solutions for machine builders as well as for its research and airborne customers.

Specim’s remarkable technological achievements and its global commercial success have so far been supported by its two Finnish investors, Nordic Option and Bocap. In the spring of 2020, Specim’s investors and founders felt the company had reached a suitable point of maturity and opportunity, complemented by external interest, and initiated a competitive trade sale process resulting in offers from several global players.

Of these, the Board determined Konica Minolta to be the perfect home for Specim’s technology, customers and employees. At the end of 2020, Konica Minolta Sensing Europe B.V., Konica Minolta’s wholly-owned subsidiary for the sensing business, based in the Netherlands, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Specim, Spectral Imaging Oy Ltd.

This transaction will fuel Specim’s growth through deployment of its technology and capabilities to global industrial markets under the trusted brand and experienced leadership of Konica Minolta. Upon acquisition, Specim will maintain its existing offices and facilities in Oulu. The acquisition is considered part of a continuum of evolution for Specim.

“I am proud of our founders, world-class employees and management team as well as our dedicated investors, who have together brought Specim to this point of market leadership in hyperspectral imaging. Konica Minolta shares our vision and values and will greatly support our business through improved sell-through and reach to global customer markets”, said Tapio Kallonen, CEO of Specim. n

Xenics Infrared Solutions

Xenics provides cutting-edge solutions for hyperspectral imaging systems with highly sensitive and high dynamic range short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensors and cameras. With 20 years of experience and expertise in designing and manufacturing InGaAs based infrared sensors, cores and cameras of best-in-class performance, Xenics offers state-of-the-art solutions for machine vision, scientific & advanced research, transportation, process monitoring, safety & security and medical applications. Mastering all critical steps of the manufacturing process with advanced production facilities and in-house know-how on detectors, systems and software development, Xenics offers a complete portfolio of line-scan and area-scan products for the (v)SWIR.

More at: www.xenics.com.