Machine-readable universal data format for bidirectional reflectance distribution function and BiRDview—An open-source web-based application for viewing and comparing bidirectional reflectance data

Funding Information: This work has been done in the frame of the projects 16NRM08 BiRD and 18SIB03 BxDiff, that have received funding from the EMPIR programme co‐financed by the Participating States and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The work has also been supported by the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme, Photonics Research and Innovation (PREIN), decision number: 320167. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Color Research and Application published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. ; Modern studies of bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) and its applications using data and machine-driven science require formatting of BRDF data according to Findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data principles. As a solution a FAIR universal BRDF file-format based on Java Script Object Notation (JSON) is proposed. JSON principles as well as file structure are explained and examples are given. Automatic validation of universal BRDF file format is realized with the help of JSON schema. Furthermore, the source code and accompanying documentation are presented in dedicated supporting material files. It is expected that after its wide adoption, the proposed BRDF file format will enhance collaboration between different research groups and benefit machine-driven science. The uptake is facilitated by introducing a BiRDview—a modern open-source web-based application for BRDF visualization. ; Peer reviewed