Low-Cost Spectrophotometers: A Comparative Evaluation of Open-Source Architectures
Abstract
The rapid growth of low-cost and open-source spectrophotometers has created a need for systematic methodologies to evaluate and compare alternative instrument architectures. This study presents a comparative assessment of three representative open-source spectrophotometric platforms, encompassing discrete multispectral sensing and continuous-spectrum imaging approaches. Their performance was evaluated against a commercial Thermo Scientific Genesys 30 spectrophotometer in terms of spectral agreement, portability, implementation complexity, and cost. The results demonstrate that no single architecture is universally optimal; instead, each presents distinct trade-offs that determine its suitability for specific applications. Multispectral sensor-based systems offer compact, low-power solutions for field deployment, whereas imaging-based platforms provide spectral performance closer to laboratory-grade instrumentation. All hardware designs, firmware, and software developed in this work are released as open-source resources to support reproducibility and further development. The study highlights the importance of matching instrument architecture to application requirements and proposes a practical framework for the evaluation and selection of low-cost spectrophotometers, facilitating the adoption of open-source analytical tools for water quality monitoring and related applications.
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BibTeX
@misc{riverarivera2026lowcost,
title = {{Low-Cost Spectrophotometers: A Comparative Evaluation of Open-Source Architectures}},
author = {Alex M. Rivera-Rivera and Daniela Martinez-Ortiz and François Quitin and Denis Terwagne and Stamatios C. Nicolis and Ernesto Altshuler and Alexandre Campo},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.09180},
eprint = {2610.09180},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.09180},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Low-Cost Spectrophotometers: A Comparative Evaluation of Open-Source Architectures
AU - Alex M. Rivera-Rivera
AU - Daniela Martinez-Ortiz
AU - François Quitin
AU - Denis Terwagne
AU - Stamatios C. Nicolis
AU - Ernesto Altshuler
AU - Alexandre Campo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.09180
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.09180
AB - The rapid growth of low-cost and open-source spectrophotometers has created a need for systematic methodologies to evaluate and compare alternative instrument architectures. This study presents a comparative assessment of three representative open-source spectrophotometric platforms, encompassing discrete multispectral sensing and continuous-spectrum imaging approaches. Their performance was evaluated against a commercial Thermo Scientific Genesys 30 spectrophotometer in terms of spectral agreement, portability, implementation complexity, and cost. The results demonstrate that no single architecture is universally optimal; instead, each presents distinct trade-offs that determine its suitability for specific applications. Multispectral sensor-based systems offer compact, low-power solutions for field deployment, whereas imaging-based platforms provide spectral performance closer to laboratory-grade instrumentation. All hardware designs, firmware, and software developed in this work are released as open-source resources to support reproducibility and further development. The study highlights the importance of matching instrument architecture to application requirements and proposes a practical framework for the evaluation and selection of low-cost spectrophotometers, facilitating the adoption of open-source analytical tools for water quality monitoring and related applications.
ER -