SAMBA technology is based on active polarization imaging (Article Optical Engineering). Polarization analysis allows the analysis and the decomposition of the light scattered by the object. The following components can be extracted:
- specular (mirror-like) reflection
- surface scattering
- volume scattering.
Specular reflection and surface scattering preserve the initial polarization while volume scattering is depolarized. A simple geometric analysis permits to detect specular reflection from surface scattering.