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Quadri-histogram equalization using cutoff limits based on the size of each histogram with preservation of average brightness

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Abstract

The traditional methods of equalization based on the histogram increase the contrast of the images, at the expense of great changes in the average brightness of the image and loss of information, producing images with an unnatural appearance. Consequently, we desire to develop a technique of contrast enhancement that preserves the average brightness of the image and thus avoids the saturation levels that cause the loss of information. We present the quadri-histogram equalization with limited contrast, an algorithm that divides the histogram into four subhistograms, which are equalized independently with bounds on the contrast improvement. These bounds are designed to constrain the distortion on the image, and our experimental results show that the proposed method preserves both the average brightness and the details of the images, compared to several methods found in the literature.

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  1. Images can be requested from the authors in the e-mails indicated in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnic School, National University of Asuncion, San Lorenzo, Paraguay

    Isidro Augusto Brizuela Pineda, Rubén Darío Medina Caballero, Julio César Mello Román & José Luis Vázquez Noguera

  2. Department of Computer Science, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK

    Juan José Cáceres Silva

Authors
  1. Isidro Augusto Brizuela Pineda
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  2. Rubén Darío Medina Caballero
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  3. Juan José Cáceres Silva
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  4. Julio César Mello Román
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  5. José Luis Vázquez Noguera
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Correspondence to Isidro Augusto Brizuela Pineda.

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Brizuela Pineda, I.A., Medina Caballero, R.D., Cáceres Silva, J.J. et al. Quadri-histogram equalization using cutoff limits based on the size of each histogram with preservation of average brightness. SIViP 13, 843–851 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11760-019-01420-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11760-019-01420-9

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