Full Color Imaging with the TSL1401 Linescan Sensor Module

[Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)]

The TSL1401-DB Linescan Imager is a 128-pixel image sensor that sees in gray levels. It can be converted to see in color with the addition of external RGB filters, each of which can be swung in front of the lens in turn during three pans of the sensor.

I bought some red-, green-, and blue-colored transparent acrylic in the hopes that it could be used as color filters, not knowing what the passband characteristics might be like. Each turned out to be rather dense, blocking a signficant percentage of the light passing through. But it turns out that they all work great as an RGB filter set. I cut them out into pie slices with my laser cutter and mounted them to a GWS Pico servo, which can rotate each into place in front of the lens when called for.

I mounted the the servo, the TSL1401-DB, and a PWR-I/O-DB module to a MoBoStamp-pe. This, in turn was mounted to a standard servo attached to a tripod for scanning. Here's a photo:



For the actual scanning, I modified the TSL1401 monitor program and its PBASIC client for the MoBo to operate the servos and to display the color output. Here's what a typical triple scan looks like:



It takes eight or nine minutes to do all three scans (at the full 510-pixel width). I've also attached some progressive output below to show how the three color scans are layered.

If there's sufficient interest, I can put together the custom acrylic parts for the filter wheel, the panning bracket, and the tripod mount available, along with the necessary fasteners, as a kit. The price (if any, depending on the parts cost and cutting time) should be fairly modest.

-Phil

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[kf4ixm]

That is very cool Phil, i would definatly be interested in it if nothing more than just to play with it.

[Mikerocontroller]

Nice project, Phil.

[Spiral_72]

That's amazing! Very cool!

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"puff"...... crap, there went another one.

[ElectricAye]

That is amazing. I'm impressed that you could get such clarity using those simple servo motors. Wow. That little color fan reminds me of something.... something oriental...
Madame Butterfly?

[Invent-O-Doc]

Phil,

This is really amazing. It reminds me very much of the imagers on earlier space probes like the pioneer and voyager series.

Thanks for sharing!

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Tom Talbot
New Market, MD, USA

[Invent-O-Doc]

Those plastic parts are really nice. Can you tell us about your laser cutter?

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Tom Talbot
New Market, MD, USA

[Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)]

Tom,

NASA still uses selectable filters like this on their imagers, including those on the Mars Spirit and Opportunity rovers. As long a they don't need to image quickly-moving lifeforms, they will probably continue to do so.

The laser cutter is an Epilog Zing 16: www.epiloglaser.com/zing_16.htm

-Phil

[aarqawi]

Dear Phil

I want to do this project this is what iam looking for to recognize the colors by using tsl 1401 do you use the same software stl 1401 for this project

[aarqawi]

Evening How are you sir
just i want to know from where i can get TSl 1401 DB RGB monitor software ( RGB One )