Task-specific sensing-introduction

Task-specific sensing (TSS), a concept concerned with the joint optimization of optical and/or hardware and computational degrees of freedom toward the optimal solution of a task, is discussed. TSS mitigates the limitations of traditional optical sensing and sensor information processing. Traditional approaches to sensing and sensor signal processing employ separate design and/or optimization strategies. This approach ignores the opportunity for tasks and algorithms to influence the type, the complexity, or the quantity of data gathered by sensors. TSS is a powerful framework for the design and analysis of optical systems for spectroscopy and 3D imaging.