In support of research projects both within the Munsell Color Science Laboratory and outside which rely on having full knowledge of the spectral makeup of scenes, a number of methods for capturing spectral images are being explored. This project is named Lippmann2000 in honor of Gabriel Lippmann who in 1891 devised a method to perfectly reconstruct the spectral content of real world scenes. In spite of Lippmann’s invention, a more primitive three-channel model, first demonstrated by James Clerk Maxwell 30 years prior, has dominated the color imaging field. The Maxwellian model, universal in today’s silver halide and electronic color image capture systems, relies on the metameric properties of the human visual system to simulate the appearance of an original color. It has been recognized by those in the forefront of imaging research that the capture of full spectral data holds advantage over traditional three-channel methods. This paper describes our efforts to-date to build our database of spectral images
