A simple and cost effective colorimeter for characterising observer variability in colour matching experiments

Abstract

In colour science, colour matching functions (CMFs) are essential for measuring how sensitive the human eye is to various light wavelengths and determining the colour of stimuli in various viewing situations. It has traditionally taken a lot of time and effort to conduct colour-matching studies to describe an observer’s perception of colour. This article presents a simple and compact 3D-printed colorimeter designed to conduct colour-matching experiments. A pilot study was conducted using the colorimeter with four observers participating in a maximum saturation-type colour matching experiment., where they would match spectral lights in the 400-720 nm range to three narrow band LED primaries. The study aimed to assess the accuracy and performance of the system in measuring individual observer CMFs. Results showed that the CMFs of the four observers showed normal characteristics of a colour-normal observer. However, the limited number of measurements per observer may have contributed to the lack of smoothness in the CMFs. The CMFs of one of the observers were compared with Stiles and Burch 1955 RGB CMFs, after normalising to the same primaries. We noted that the red and green functions fell within the expected range, while the blue function showed some unusual characteristics. The limitations of the colorimeter and overall pilot study were also discussed. In conclusion, the colorimeter showed promising results in measuring CMFs, however the limitations need to be addressed to improve matching accuracy. Additionally, further measurements are required to better characterise intra-observer and inter-observer variabilities.