Biological gray scale for digital imagery

Robert Carter

doi:10.1117/1.1900135

1 April 2005 Biological gray scale for digital imagery

Robert Carter

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Electronic Imaging, Vol. 14, Issue 2, 023004 (April 2005). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1900135

Abstract

Biological evolution has adapted human vision to terrestrial light contrasts. Earthly scenes have a typical bimodal contrast histogram, with a reflection mode and a shadow mode. Consequently, human sensitivity to gray-scale differences also is bimodal. Luminance differences are most discriminable at the modal intensities of the terrestrial contrast distribution so that vision conveys maximum information about the world. By inverting this biologic, an image can be computationally adapted to the human visual system. Using Paul Whittle's model of gray-scale sensitivity as a basis, distinct pixel intensities in image data are mapped to optimally discriminable displayed luminances. Since this approach is scene dependent and display dependent, the optimum gray scale must be recomputed for each displayed image, background luminance and display environment.

©(2005) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Citation Download Citation

Robert Carter "Biological gray scale for digital imagery," Journal of Electronic Imaging 14(2), 023004 (1 April 2005). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1900135

Published: 1 April 2005

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