Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition

Imaging through dense fog presents unique challenges, with essential visual information crucial for applications like object detection and recognition, thereby hindering conventional image processing methods. Despite improvements through neural network-based approaches, these techniques falter under...

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Main Authors: Libang Chen, Jinyan Lin, Qihang Bian, Yikun Liu, Jianying Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10111
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author Libang Chen
Jinyan Lin
Qihang Bian
Yikun Liu
Jianying Zhou
author_facet Libang Chen
Jinyan Lin
Qihang Bian
Yikun Liu
Jianying Zhou
author_sort Libang Chen
collection DOAJ
description Imaging through dense fog presents unique challenges, with essential visual information crucial for applications like object detection and recognition, thereby hindering conventional image processing methods. Despite improvements through neural network-based approaches, these techniques falter under extremely low visibility conditions exacerbated by inhomogeneous illumination, which degrades deep learning performance due to inconsistent signal intensities. We introduce in this paper a novel method that adaptively filters background illumination based on Structural Differential and Integral Filtering (SDIF) to enhance only the vital signal information. The grayscale banding is eliminated by incorporating a visual optimization strategy based on image gradients. Maximum Histogram Equalization (MHE) is used to achieve high contrast while maintaining fidelity to the original content. We evaluated our algorithm using data collected from both a fog chamber and outdoor environments and performed comparative analyses with existing methods. Our findings demonstrate that our proposed method significantly enhances signal clarity under extremely low visibility conditions and out-performs existing techniques, offering substantial improvements for deep fog imaging applications.
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spelling doaj-art-81fbe2eea2b34f519a80c9a2ecdc3d8d2025-08-20T01:53:42ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-11-0114221011110.3390/app142210111Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility ConditionLibang Chen0Jinyan Lin1Qihang Bian2Yikun Liu3Jianying Zhou4Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Metrology and Sensing, School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai Campus, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaSchool of Artificial Intelligence, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai Campus, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Metrology and Sensing, School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai Campus, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Metrology and Sensing, School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai Campus, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, ChinaImaging through dense fog presents unique challenges, with essential visual information crucial for applications like object detection and recognition, thereby hindering conventional image processing methods. Despite improvements through neural network-based approaches, these techniques falter under extremely low visibility conditions exacerbated by inhomogeneous illumination, which degrades deep learning performance due to inconsistent signal intensities. We introduce in this paper a novel method that adaptively filters background illumination based on Structural Differential and Integral Filtering (SDIF) to enhance only the vital signal information. The grayscale banding is eliminated by incorporating a visual optimization strategy based on image gradients. Maximum Histogram Equalization (MHE) is used to achieve high contrast while maintaining fidelity to the original content. We evaluated our algorithm using data collected from both a fog chamber and outdoor environments and performed comparative analyses with existing methods. Our findings demonstrate that our proposed method significantly enhances signal clarity under extremely low visibility conditions and out-performs existing techniques, offering substantial improvements for deep fog imaging applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10111Image enhancementlow visibility imagingoptical imagingatmospheric scattering
spellingShingle Libang Chen
Jinyan Lin
Qihang Bian
Yikun Liu
Jianying Zhou
Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition
Applied Sciences
Image enhancement
low visibility imaging
optical imaging
atmospheric scattering
title Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition
title_full Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition
title_fullStr Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition
title_full_unstemmed Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition
title_short Inhomogeneous Illumination Image Enhancement Under Extremely Low Visibility Condition
title_sort inhomogeneous illumination image enhancement under extremely low visibility condition
topic Image enhancement
low visibility imaging
optical imaging
atmospheric scattering
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10111
work_keys_str_mv AT libangchen inhomogeneousilluminationimageenhancementunderextremelylowvisibilitycondition
AT jinyanlin inhomogeneousilluminationimageenhancementunderextremelylowvisibilitycondition
AT qihangbian inhomogeneousilluminationimageenhancementunderextremelylowvisibilitycondition
AT yikunliu inhomogeneousilluminationimageenhancementunderextremelylowvisibilitycondition
AT jianyingzhou inhomogeneousilluminationimageenhancementunderextremelylowvisibilitycondition