Systems and Methods for Measuring Spectra of Skin and Other Objects and Materials and Making Predictions Based Thereon

An apparatus for measuring optical properties of skin, comprising:

• a spectrometer and a light source under control of a processing circuit;
• an optical cavity into which illumination from the light source is provided, wherein the cavity has an opening for illuminating a portion of the skin to be measured;
• a calibration/normalization reference having a surface for positioning such that the opening illuminates the calibration/normalization reference;
• a storage circuit coupled to the processing circuit that stores linearization coefficients and spectral data for the calibration/normalization reference and stores data for a classifier prediction algorithm;
• a display under control of the processing circuit;
• and
• a wireless module under control of the processing circuit;
• wherein the processor controls the display of control information on the display;
• wherein, in response to user activation based on the displayed control information, a measurement of the calibration/normalization reference is made and stored in the storage circuit;
• wherein, in response to user activation based on the displayed control information, a measurement of a portion of the skin is measured via the opening;
• wherein, based on the stored linearization coefficients and stored spectral data, spectral information for the measured portion of the skin is generated;
• wherein, based on the spectral information generated for the measured portion of the skin and based on the stored data for a classifier prediction algorithm, a particular one of a plurality of skin-applied products is predicted;
• wherein, under control of the processor, data indicative of the predicted particular one of the plurality of skin-applied products is transmitted remotely to a centralized resource for storage and/or subsequent processing.