// TECHNICAL FIELD GUIDE
SPECTRAL IMAGING UNIT
1.0SYSTEM OVERVIEW
This manual is the primary field reference for the Spectral Imaging Unit. It covers all operational procedures, interface elements, and system protocols required for active deployment.
The device is a multi-sensor spatial imaging unit running on dedicated processing hardware. It fuses a wide-spectrum imaging camera, depth sensor arrays, and Structured Light Sensor (SLS) data against an Environmental Anomaly Index. This index mathematically compares the current frame against a continuously updated baseline of the physical environment. When the index drifts past a calibrated threshold, the unit registers a DETECTION EVENT.
2.0PRIMARY INTERFACE ANATOMY
The interface is divided into functional operational regions. The primary display provides a direct visual reference of the active tracking state.
2.1 Top bar and detector control
Top Bar. System glyph, active source label, current MODE (ANOMALY / SLS), current VIEW (RGB / DEPTH), current ENV preset, current CLASS, and a live frame counter.
Detector Bar. Four primary status chips: FACE, BODY, SPECTRAL, and SLS. Each chip glows cyan when that specific detector array is armed. Tap a chip to toggle that telemetry channel on or off.
3.0SYSTEM METERS (LEFT RAIL)
Live instrument readouts showing continuous environmental updates. The system tracks the following baseline metrics.
Technical. Mean brightness of the frame (0 to 255), plus the delta from the moving-average baseline. Literally counts photons hitting the camera sensor. "cd/m2" is a real photometric unit.
Watch for. Sudden drops of more than 5 below baseline mean something occluded the lens. Sudden spikes mean a brief light source appeared. Sustained drift over time means the room's lighting is actually changing, not paranormal.
Technical. Shannon entropy of the RGB histogram, averaged across the three color channels. Measures how dispersed vs. concentrated the frame's colors are. "H" is the standard symbol for entropy.
Watch for. Sudden collapse means a uniform thing entered the frame (a hand, or a cloud of smoke thickening). Sudden expansion means something with a different color palette appeared (a face, a new object). Steady-state oscillation is just smoke moving; ignore it.
Technical. Dense optical flow. For every block of pixels, compute where it was one frame ago. The dominant direction (degrees, 0 = right) and magnitude (pixels/frame) tell you which way the smoke is drifting and how fast.
Watch for. Direction stays consistent for 5+ seconds then suddenly rotates 90 degrees or more means something disturbed the flow. Magnitude doubles or more means something moved through the smoke that was not part of the smoke.
Technical. Variance of the optical flow field, how aligned all the local motion vectors are. 1.0 = every block moving in lockstep; 0.0 = pure chaos. Sigma is statistical standard deviation.
Watch for. This is the primary spatial disturbance meter. A clean smoke cloud moves as one body (coherence near 1.0). When an object pushes through it, the smoke separates around the object and coherence drops sharply. Drop below 0.5 for more than half a second means something is genuinely disturbing the flow.
Technical. L2 distance (pixel-wise) between the current frame and the exponentially-weighted moving average of recent frames. Tells you how different now is vs. what has been typical for the last few seconds.
Watch for. The detector's adapt-to-the-room mechanism. Anything new in the room makes this spike. Climbs and stays elevated means something new entered the scene and stayed. Spikes briefly then returns means something flashed through.
Technical. Composite confidence score. A weighted blend of the best candidate region's score (50%) multiplied by inverse field coherence (30%) multiplied by normalized baseline deviation (20%). The unified "is something happening" number.
Watch for. This is the meter that drives auto-detection. Above the threshold (default 40%) the system fires a SPECTRAL ANOMALY detection. Above 60% is a strong hit. Above 80% is exceptional. The threshold is set in CONFIG.
4.0SLS MODE (RIGHT-RAIL TRIO)
Visible only when the unit is shifted into SLS tracking mode.
- Subjects tracked. Number of human bodies currently detected by the neural network with at least one valid keypoint. Watch for: count exceeds visible people in frame means an unexplained figure.
- Avg confidence. Mean confidence score across all detected keypoints (joints). Higher is more clearly humanoid. Watch for: sustained over 60% on a figure that should not exist.
- Kinematic coherence. Inverse-variance of keypoint confidences. Penalizes "Frankensteined" detections where some joints are super-confident and others are noise. Watch for: above 0.7 on a detected figure that should not be there means the detection is internally consistent, not just noise pretending to be a person.
5.0DATA ARCHIVE AND RECALL
All detection events are automatically logged to the internal solid-state drive for post-operation review.
5.1 The detection archive (gallery)
Pressing G or tapping the GALLERY button opens the master database.
- Grid view. Displays all session data cards, sorted chronologically. Each card shows a snapshot thumbnail, detection type, intensity class, and confidence percentage.
- Depth badge. A cyan "D" badge indicates that the capture successfully paired visual data with a complete spatial depth map.
- Timecode. When a project timecode is set (see 6.0), every card and full-frame view is stamped with the global TC of the event, so captures line up with your external recordings.
5.2 Layers and 3D review
Open any capture to page through the layers it recorded. Available layers depend on the sensors that were active at the moment of the event.
- RGB / DEPTH / THERMAL. The still frames captured on each active channel, with the detection box and classification baked into the annotated view.
- 3D ORBIT. A live, orbitable point cloud rebuilt from the raw depth map. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom. The detection is rendered inside the reconstructed room so you can see where in space it registered.
- 3D SNAP. A baked static 3D render, shown when the capture stored a rendered cloud but no raw depth to orbit.
- NO DEPTH DATA. Shown for captures made without a depth sensor active. The visual layers are still available.
6.0GLOBAL TIMECODE
SPECTER can stamp every capture and recording with a single project timecode so all of your evidence shares one clock.
- Start TC and FPS. Set your project start timecode and frame rate in Settings. From that point every detection, recording, and export carries the matching global TC.
- Evidence Wall overlay. An optional persistent timecode overlay can be shown on the Evidence Wall so a running TC is visible on the display during a session.
- Why it matters. A shared timecode lets you align SPECTER captures with external cameras, audio recorders, and notes when you review the session afterward.
7.0SPECTER NODE (WIRELESS FIELD SENSOR)
The SPECTER Node is an optional wireless sensor that reports environmental readings to the app over your local network. It extends the instrument's reach into a room without a cable run. Up to three nodes can be deployed simultaneously.
7.1 Connecting a node
Enable SPECTER NODE in Settings. The app announces itself on the local network and a powered node joins automatically. Once linked, a live node widget appears in the left rail and the node's readings feed the meters and the remote displays. Each connected node gets its own panel in the bottom dock with a live field mesh and rolling 3-minute traces.
7.2 Readings
- Proximity field. A capacitive antenna reports how near an influence is to the node. The reading rises smoothly as something approaches. Higher value means closer.
- Magnetic field. A three-axis magnetometer reports magnetic amplitude and direction. Onboard lights glow toward the side nearest the source so you can read the bearing at a glance.
- Link. Signal strength and connection health, so you know the node is reporting.
- Mode tag. Shows whether the node is in touch mode or extended-range (RC) mode, and the current RC sub-channel.
7.3 Live traces
Each node panel shows two 3-minute rolling traces for magnetometer and proximity. The traces use the same data buffer as the threshold tuning cards in Settings, so the rail, the settings, and the wall displays always agree. The amber hairline marks the current alert threshold; red dots mark threshold crossings.
7.4 Theremin mode
Theremin mode turns the proximity antenna into a continuous, audible field. As an influence nears the node, the onboard ring glows up and an optional tone rises in pitch, giving you a hands-free sense of approach. Use REFIT RANGE with your hand at the intended distance to fit the reach to your space, and raise the jitter deadband until the field rests at zero when nothing is near. Firmware 2.15.1 and later applies a median-of-3 de-glitch filter to the theremin display and span auto-fit, so isolated single-tick EMI spikes no longer cause the ring to flicker.
7.5 Per-node alert thresholds
Each node has its own MAG and PROX alert threshold, tuned from Settings. A node in a noisy room can run a higher threshold than one in a quiet corner. The device is the single source of truth: the app reads the node's reported threshold from telemetry, so the slider and the capture level always agree with what the node is actually running. Optionally LINK the MAG or PROX threshold across all nodes for one global slider.
7.6 Display orientation calibration
Each node can be calibrated so the on-screen direction finder arrow points the way the real world does. Hold a magnet at the pod's physical FRONT and press FRONT in the calibration section; add BACK, LEFT, and RIGHT for accuracy. The status reads ALIGNED with the rotation angle and MIRRORED for left-handed pods. This is a display-only transform and does not affect detection or sensor readings.
7.7 Direction Finder
The Instrument Bay shows a top-down compass radar with one needle per node, each independently smoothed and color-coded. The dominant node draws the solid arrow; others draw dashed. When nodes converge on the same bearing, the arrows triangulate toward the source. Run orientation calibration on each node first for the needles to agree with the physical room.
7.8 Node trajectory & convergence
When two or more nodes fire threshold events within a 1.2-second window, SPECTER shows a Node Trajectory readout at the bottom of the screen with the sequence and millisecond timing between hits. When all three nodes fire in that window, a THREE-NODE CONVERGENCE alert appears at the top. The trajectory shows which nodes fired and when; for the spatial bearing, use the Direction Finder. Correlation runs on genuine hardware events only and never suppresses individual node events.
7.9 Node events
When a node reading crosses its threshold, SPECTER can log an event and trigger a capture automatically, the same as any onboard detection. Adjust node sensitivity in Settings to suit the location. The ENABLE toggle in the detector bar controls whether automatic captures save to the gallery; when off, detection still appears on screen but no evidence is written. Manual snapshots (F7) are always available.
7.10 Audible alert mute
The AUDIBLE ALERT button in the detector bar is a master mute for every connected node. When muted, all node tones stop immediately. The state is re-sent to each node on connection, so a node that reboots mid-session comes back silent. Requires firmware 2.15.0 or newer.
7.11 Node-to-node sync
The SYSTEM tab in the node portal has a SYNC ALL button that copies this node's tuning (sensitivity, thresholds, LED configuration, alert timing) to every other node on the same network. After a sync, the receiving nodes recalibrate for about 10 seconds to clear any stale baseline. Slot, name, Wi-Fi credentials, and physical wiring settings are not synced.
7.12 Expanded field vector view
Double-click any node's field mesh in the bottom dock to open the expanded Field Vector overlay. This shows a large real-time magnetic vector mesh with the raw X/Y/Z axes, proximity, and Wi-Fi RSSI, plus a tuning panel with SET BASELINE (rebaseline this room), MAG and PROX sensitivity multipliers (0.1x to 3x, display only), and the MAG and PROX alert threshold sliders for that node. Press Esc or click X to close. See Using the SPECTER Node: Expanded field vector view for the full reference.
7.13 RF interference filter
The expanded view includes an RF filter for recording-mode operation. Press and hold HOLD TO CAPTURE INTERFERENCE while a crew radio or other known source is active to capture its magnetic signature. Toggle SUPPRESS MATCHES to suppress proximity alerts matching captured signatures. Per-node, not global. See Using the SPECTER Node: RF interference filter for details.
7.14 Multi-node diagnostic capture
The CAPTURE ALL (2 MIN) button in Settings (Sensors & Alerts, SPECTER Node section) fires the same 2-minute field-capture log at every connected node simultaneously and compares them side by side. It downloads all CSVs, computes per-node baseline noise (PROX and MAG mean + stdev), RC fault rate, RSSI, and alert counts, and flags any node whose stats stand out from the group. A folder with the CSVs and a SUMMARY.txt opens automatically. Use this when hand-made nodes behave inconsistently to see which one has a wiring or antenna difference. See Using the SPECTER Node: Multi-node diagnostic capture for the full guide.
7.15 Per-node portal diagnostic log
Each node's own web portal has a CAPTURE 2 MIN LOG button that records ~2 minutes of raw sensor data at ~20 Hz and downloads it as CSV. The CSV includes proximity delta, magnetometer delta, RC capacitance charge/fault state, alert phase, and RSSI. A stall log at /diag/stalls records any loop-blocking events over 40 ms. See Using the SPECTER Node: Per-node portal diagnostic log for the column reference.
7.16 Internet relay
For nodes off the SPECTER computer's Wi-Fi network, Settings shows an Internet relay URL (Cloudflare tunnel, per-machine isolated). Paste it into the node's own portal Internet Relay field to connect over the internet. Requires Internet mode and a valid license. See Using the SPECTER Node: Internet relay for setup steps.
7.17 Node settings portal
Each node hosts a web portal at 192.168.4.1 for direct configuration: Wi-Fi, slot and name, sense source (touch or extended-range RC), sensitivity and thresholds, LED chipset and 14 animation patterns with 3 event colors per channel, theremin mode, audible alerts, firmware updates, sync, a 2-minute field-capture diagnostic log, and a loop-stall log. See Using the SPECTER Node for the full reference.
8.0REMOTE DISPLAYS
SPECTER can mirror the session to a second screen or a phone over your local network for a monitor or an investigator standing away from the workstation.
- Evidence Wall. A full-screen display of the live feed with the detection box, classification, recent-event log, node gauges, and an optional timecode overlay. Ideal for a monitor facing the room.
- Instrument Bay. A gauge-focused display of the live meters and node readings, updated several times per second, for watching field values at a glance.
- Field monitor (phone). A phone view of the live meters and sparklines so a second operator can watch readings from across the location.
9.0FIELD PROTOCOLS
- Reset the baseline in new sectors. Step into a new physical room, wait six seconds, and verify that the log displays BASELINE NOMINAL before beginning your sweep.
- Event documentation. When a detection event occurs, the system logs the data autonomously. The unit's sensors process anomalies across a wide spectrum, so visual confirmation with the naked eye is not required for a valid reading.
- Sensor accuracy. The unit mathematically processes exactly what its physical sensors record. Avoid dismissing readings as system errors. Investigate environmental variables that may have triggered the mathematical response.