Title: Fast algorithm of image enhancement based on multi-scale retinex

Authors: Alexander G. Zotin

Addresses: Department of Informatics and Computer Techniques, Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology, Krasnoyarsky Rabochy Av., 31, Krasnoyarsk, 660037, Russia

Abstract: In this paper, a fast image enhancement algorithm based on multi-scale retinex in HSV colour model is presented. The proposed algorithm produces the result similar to the one which uses a nonlinear processing in the HSV colour model, but with less computational cost. It uses linear dependencies of RGB colours from the V-component of HSV model. Additionally, to speed up the images processing and enhance the local contrast is suggested to perform multi-scale retinex (MSR) computation only in the low-frequency area obtained by the wavelet transform. Experimental research was performed on more than 100 colour images having non-uniform brightness. Different algorithms based on retinex technology were implemented and their performance was compared. The proposed way of output image colour formation allows reducing processing time by 30%-75%, depending on the image size. The experimental data show that the usage of the wavelet transform in proposed MSR algorithm additionally leads to 2-2.8 times increase in processing speed.

Keywords: colour image enhancement; retinex; multi-scale retinex; MSR; colour space; HSV; wavelet transform.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRIS.2020.106804

International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems, 2020 Vol.12 No.2, pp.106 - 116

Received: 13 Apr 2018
Accepted: 14 Aug 2018
Published online: 21 Apr 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article