Data acquisition for optical scattering : A gonioreflectometer prototype approach - cross-functional team project

Light is all around us, interacting with us and the material of the devices we use every day. When light hits a surface, it scatters due to irregularities of the material. This scattering behaviour of light is difficult to quantify. The quantification of optical scattering is often modelled as the bidirectional scattering distribution function (BSDF), which describes how light scatters in both incident and outgoing directions. The goal of this thesis is to develop a prototype for measuring optical scattering to provide data for modelling the BSDF. This is a cross-functional team project, combining multiple engineering disciplines. The chosen measurement system is heavily inspired by a gonioreflectometer which consists of a light source which illuminates a sample and a moving detector which measures the scattered light from the sample in multiple angles. Due to time constraints, the prototype was not finished. However, this thesis provides a solid foundation for further development of an optical scattering measurement device. Addressing issues such as movement of the detector, accurately determining the outgoing angle of the light and fine tuning the measurements. The thesis tried to tackle the difficulties of precise angular measurements with image deconvolution, which proved to have close to zero impact on the measurements. The control and calibration of the system components proved to be successful, through utilization of techniques such as blob detection and dark image noise removal.