Patent ID: 8259203

Claim:
An improved method of simulating panchromatic response from a multi-color imager including a sensor and a multi-color filter, said multicolor imager operative to image an imaging scene and to thereby acquire image data, the improvement comprising: identifying a region of spectral response curves where said multi-color imager has a substantially uniform response to a plurality of wavelengths; illuminating said imaging scene with an illumination source emitting light having a wavelength within said substantially uniform response region; imaging said imaging scene to acquire said image data from said multi-color imager while illuminating said imaging scene, wherein said image data includes a pseudo color image associated with a respective color of the multi-color filter; and combining, using a controller, said image data into a single monochrome image with a same intrinsic resolution as the sensor, thereby simulating panchromatic response from the multi-color imager, by filling in a two-dimensional array with dimensions same as the sensor with pixel data from each pseudo color image according to where the pixel data was acquired from on the sensor.