Everything related to Maxwell Render and General Stuff that doesn't fit in other categories
#400363
Hi all,

I'm currently working on a project testing the feasibility of using Maxwell to simulate scenery in near and short wave infrared. Basically the approach I am taking is to create a scene in person (with boxes, various materials etc.), capture photos using infrared cameras, and then try to recreate these scenes using Maxwell and comparing the images to the render. Specifically, I am using blender to create the models, and then using Maxwell Studio 5.1 for the rest of the process.

I read somewhere on a manual that "Maxwell considers a spectrum which ranges from the Infrared to the Ultraviolet", and that "each pixel in the output image contains different amounts of spectral energy", which is then interpreted by the sensor and processed into an image. After spending a few weeks familiarising myself with the software I seem to be at an impasse - is it possible to somehow access this spectral data? Or perhaps could I reconfigure a custom camera to process the spectral data within specific wavelengths outside of the visible spectrum? I need to somehow find a way to make the output from Maxwell scientifically comparable to the data collected from the infrared cameras (being a grayscale photo, values corresponding to intensity of light within a specific band, ie approx 1 – 1.7μm for short wave IR)

Does anyone have any further insights / ideas for how I could continue?
Feel free to ask any questions if I wasn't clear enough :) and thank you for your time!
Last edited by Scott Lee on Fri Jan 08, 2021 7:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
#400373
Interesting approach and use of Maxwell. I'm taking a shot in the dark here and would suggest investigating the camera types and settings as well as IES lighting which allows specific lights and their properties to be used. Maybe somewhere in this info you'll find a hint to extend into the UV/IR part of the spectrum. Maxwell works with real life values so theoretically with the right type of camera and settings you should be heading in the right direction?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqoSYIOWfkg - IES lighting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qao78deodJk - photometric data
https://nextlimitsupport.atlassian.net/ ... mera+panel
#400386
Mark Bell wrote:
Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:50 am
Interesting approach and use of Maxwell. I'm taking a shot in the dark here and would suggest investigating the camera types and settings as well as IES lighting which allows specific lights and their properties to be used. Maybe somewhere in this info you'll find a hint to extend into the UV/IR part of the spectrum. Maxwell works with real life values so theoretically with the right type of camera and settings you should be heading in the right direction?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqoSYIOWfkg - IES lighting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qao78deodJk - photometric data
https://nextlimitsupport.atlassian.net/ ... mera+panel
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your suggestion! I'm currently trying to measure natural sunlight using a spectroradiometer and applying the reading to the environment parameters. I've looked into IES lighting, and it looks like I could use this for further tests.

I've also read over some further documentation and it seems that the setting I'm looking for is under camera parameters/sensor/response, however it doesn't look like we can create custom sensors/we're just stuck with the presets.

I'm currently wondering how Maxwell stores its spectral data, whether it is a hyperspectral data cube within the MXI file or something else, and how I could go about accessing this, however I can't find any documentation about how the algorithm works exactly.
#400387
luis.hijarrubia wrote:
Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:46 am
Spectral data is only stored when you use color multilight. But we don't have any functionality to read that data from outside... yet.
Oh I see! I haven't touched multilight yet, i'll have a play around in the morning. Do you think there's a way I could extract that data myself without having to wait for something to be implemented?
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