Light and Imaging in Extreme Environments

Uzzo, S. (1993) Light and Imaging in Extreme Environments: Proceedings, 2nd International Design for Extreme Environments Assembly, McGill University, Centre for Northern Studies, Montreal, PQ

Humankind has striven for thousands of years to extend the capacity for the eye-brain system to sense, store and organize data. This is because, while the eye is capable of high acuity, the storage component of the system (brain) is unable to maintain accuracy and resolution over time. Images stored in the brain are modified due to individual neurological function, context, and experience; so a more objective medium is needed for scientific inquiry–one which allows a high degree of accuracy, objectivity and retrievability of image information to be achieved. Photography and electronic imaging (video) are filling that need. A further demand for the environmental scientist, is the ability to obtain high-quality multispectral images under conditions ranging from space to deep ocean trenches, and in terrestrial climates ranging from desert heat to Arctic cold. With the increased sophistication of remote sensing and image computing, images can be electronically captured and transmitted from unattended, teleoperated equipment for instant viewing, image processing, and mass storage. The purpose of this treatise is to examine the ways we extend our eye/brain system through a variety of imaging technologies in our race toward a sustainable world.