Imagine knowing if the avocado you're about to eat is ripe enough before you spend the time and heartache cutting into it to reveal that it needs just another day.

With the HyperCam, you may be able to save yourself the disappointment.

The low cost camera could revolutionise everything from shopping to medicine, the team behind it says.

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The HyperCam uses visible and invisible near-infrared light to see beneath the surfaces of objects and catch more details than the average camera that relies on visual light alone.

HOW IT WORKS Hyperspectral cameras use visible and invisible near-infrared light to see beneath the surfaces of objects. They can catch more details than the average camera that relies on visual light alone. Overall, the camera looks at 17 different light wavelengths and produces an image for each of them. Advertisement

Hyperspectral imaging, which is a way to collect photos of light from all across the electromagnetic spectrum, is used in everything from satellite footage to food safety inspections.

It uses visible and invisible near-infrared light to see beneath the surfaces of objects and catch more details than the average camera that relies on visual light alone.

But the researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft Research wanted to find a way to bring it to consumers.

So they developed the HyperCam, which could cost as much as $800 or as little as $50.

Existing hyperspectral cameras are much more costly, the researchers said.

Overall, the camera looks at 17 different light wavelengths and produces an image for each of them.

The camera was presented at the UbiComp 2015 conference along with a paper detailing the hardware.

The goal for the device is to be used in addition to a mobile phone camera for a more powerful device as you're walking down the grocery store aisle.

When put to the test with 10 different fruit, the HyperCam could predict the ripeness of the fruit with 94 percent accuracy, way better than the 62 percent accuracy of a regular camera.

Because the HyperCam can pick up so many wavelengths of light, it's able to pick up more detail than the average camera, especially when it comes to fingerprints.

'It's like having a food safety app in your pocket,' Shwetak Patel, a professor of computer science and engineering and electrical engineering at the University of Washington said.

'With this kind of camera, you could go to the grocery store and know what produce to pick by looking underneath the skin and seeing if there's anything wrong inside.

The camera also has the potential to be used as a biometric tool for security systems.

Because the HyperCam can pick up so many wavelengths of light, it's able to pick up more detail than the average camera, especially when it comes to fingerprints.

The researchers found that in photos of 25 different users, the system could distinguish the hand images with 99 percent accuracy.

There are some limitations to the technology right now, so it might not be as simple as waltzing into the grocery store.

The camera's technology doesn't work under bright lights, because it's too much for the sensors.