  Hyperspectral imaging enables versatile applications due to its competence in
capturing abundant spatial and spectral information, which are crucial for
identifying substances. However, the devices for acquiring hyperspectral images
are expensive and complicated. Therefore, many alternative spectral imaging
methods have been proposed by directly reconstructing the hyperspectral
information from lower-cost, more available RGB images. We present a thorough
investigation of these state-of-the-art spectral reconstruction methods from
the widespread RGB images. A systematic study and comparison of more than 25
methods has revealed that most of the data-driven deep learning methods are
superior to prior-based methods in terms of reconstruction accuracy and quality
despite lower speeds. This comprehensive review can serve as a fruitful
reference source for peer researchers, thus further inspiring future
development directions in related domains.
