Computer-implemented system and method for color sensing, storage and comparison

A color sensing device comprising:

• a housing having an external perimeter about a length thereof, and a face defining a plane perpendicular to said length;
• a substrate residing within the housing, oriented in parallel with and offset from the plane defined by the face to define an interior within the perimeter of the housing, the face configured to engage a target surface about the perimeter of the housing wherein ambient light is substantially restricted from entering the interior;
• a controlled light source and a color sensor mounted to the substrate, wherein the controlled light source comprises a plurality of light-emitting diodes circumferentially disposed about the color sensor and configured to collectively emit light having a common color temperature;
• a controller configured to control the plurality of light-emitting diodes to be turned off or on across a plurality of lighting power levels in response to an input control signal,
• the color sensor arranged to receive light radiated by the controlled light source and reflected from the target surface when the face of the color sensing device engages the target surface, the sensor further effective to generate output signals representative of a color of the target surface;
• a memory storing a matrix of device-specific calibration values, wherein the controller is further effective to convert output from the color sensor to tristimulus values using a priori estimation with respect to the calibration values;
• and
• a cover mounted to the substrate and about the color sensor, wherein the plurality of light-emitting diodes are circumferentially arranged about the cover, the cover further comprising an aperture between the color sensor and the face of the housing whereby reflected light from a color sample is passed through the cover and to the color sensor.

A color sensing method comprising:

• transmitting raw sensor calibration measurements with respect to a color reference from a color sensing device to a user computing device;
• generating a sensor to CIE tristimulus matrix of device-specific calibration values based on the raw sensor calibration measurements;
• storing the generated matrix of device-specific calibration values in memory on the color sensing device;
• transmitting control signals to the color sensing device corresponding to a selected lighting condition;
• controlling a light source within the color sensing device to be turned on at one of a plurality of lighting power levels as corresponding to the control signals;
• receiving at a color sensor light radiated by the controlled light source and reflected from a target surface when a face of the color sensing device engages the target surface;
• converting output from the color sensor to tristimulus values using a priori estimation with respect to the device-specific calibration values;
• and
• generating output signals to a display on the user computing device representative of a color of the target surface in association with the selected lighting condition.