

Unlike conventional spectrometers, which rely on dispersing light or algorithmic reconstruction to recover spectra, the convolutional spectrometer physically performs a convolution operation on the incoming light. This is achieved using a simple cascade of optical components with periodic spectral responses, such as unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometers or micro-ring resonators.
Is this thing a spectrometer or a fucking turbo encabulator?

The spectrometer knows where it is, because it knows where it isn’t.