Standard cameras capture only a fraction of the information that is visible to the human eye. This is specifically true for natural scenes including areas of low and high illumination due to transitions between sunlit and shaded areas. When capturing such a scene, many cameras are unable to store the full Dynamic Range (DR) resulting in low quality images where details are concealed in shadows or washed out by sunlight. High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging techniques appear as a solution to overcome this issue. Recent research programs on machine vision have clearly demonstrated the benefits of real-time HDR vision. Finally, medical applications require high precision images and HDR lighting techniques to improve the rendering quality of imaging systems.

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Multispectral acquisition improves machine vision since it permits capturing more information on object surface properties than color imaging. The concept of spectral filter arrays has been developed recently and allows multispectral single shot acquisition with a compact camera design. Due to filter manufacturing difficulties, there was, up to recently, no system available for a large span of spectrum, i.e., visible and Near Infra-Red acquisition. This work presents the achievement of a prototype of camera that captures seven visible and one near infra-red bands on the same sensor chip. This opens a new range of applications in security, robotics, automotive and medical fields.