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In this paper we describe in detail a method for calibrating a CCD-based camera. The calibration aims to remove both temporal and systematic noises introduced by the sensor, electronics, and optics after which we can correct the non-linearity of its response. For the non-linearity correction we use a simple and powerful approach consisting on a complementary approach between a polynomial fitting and an LUT based algorithm. The proposed methodology is accurate in the sense that it takes into account individual characteristics of each pixel. In each pixel, systematic noises are measured through acquiring offset images, thermal images, and Flat-Field images. A rigorous protocol for acquiring these images based on experimentation is established. The method to acquire Flat-Field image is novel and is particularly efficient in that it can correct all defects due to non-uniform pixel responses, vignettage, blemishes on optic and/or filters, and perhaps even illumination nonuniformity. We notice that such a methodology of calibration is particularly efficient in the case of an optical filter based multispectral imaging system, although it remains valid for any imaging system based on a CCD sensor.

International audienceReflectance Transformation Imaging is a recent technique allowing for the measurement and the modeling of one of the most influential parameters on the appearance of a surface, namely the angular reflectance, thanks to the change in the direction of the lighting during acquisition. From these photometric stereo images (discrete data), the angular reflectance is modeled to allow both interactive and continuous relighting of the inspected surface. Two families of functions, based on polynomials and on hemispherical harmonics, are cited and used in the literature at this aim, respectively, associated to the PTM and HSH techniques. In this paper, we propose a novel method called Discrete Modal Decomposition (DMD) based on a particular and appropriate Eigen basis derived from a structural dynamic problem. The performance of the proposed method is compared with the PTM and HSH results on three real surfaces showing different reflection behaviors. Comparisons are made in terms of both visual rendering and of statistical error (local and global). The obtained results show that the DMD is more efficient in that it allows for a more accurate modeling of the angular reflectance when light-matter interaction is complex such as the presence of shadows, specularities and inter-reflections

International audienceWe introduce a new feature extraction model for purposes of image comparison, visualization and interpretation. We define the notion of spectral saliency, as the extent to which a certain group of pixels stands out in an image and in terms of reflectance, rather than in terms of colorimetric attributes as it is the case in traditional saliency studies. The model takes as an input a multi- or hyper-spectral image with any dimensionality, any range of wavelengths, and it uses a series of dedicated feature extractions to output a single saliency map. We also present a local analysis of the image spectrum allowing to produce such maps in color, thus depicting not only which objects are salients, but also in which range of wavelengths. A variety of applications can be derived from the resulting maps, particularly under the scope of visualization, such as the saliency-driven evaluation of dimensionality reduction techniques. Results show that spectral saliency provides valuable information, which do not correlate neither with visual saliency, second-order statistics nor with naturalness, but serve however well for visualization-related applications

We introduce a new database to promote visibility enhancement techniques intended for spectral image dehazing. SHIA (Spectral Hazy Image database for Assessment) is composed of two real indoor scenes M1 and M2 of 10 levels of fog each and their corresponding hazefree (ground-truth) images, taken in the visible and the near infrared ranges every 10nm starting from 450 to 1000nm. Thus, the number of images that form SHIA is 1540 with a size of 1312 × 1082 pixels. The hazy images and the haze-free images are captured under the same illumination conditions. Three of the well-known dehazing image methods belonging to different categories were adjusted and applied on the spectral hazy images. This study confirms once again a strong dependency between dehazing methods and fog densities. It urges the design of spectral-based image dehazing able to handle simultaneously the accurate estimation of the parameters of the visibility degradation model and the limitation of artifacts and post-dehazing noise. The database can be downloaded freely at http://chic.u-bourgogne.fr.

International audienceWe present a new method for the visualization of spectral images, based on a selection of three relevant spectral channels to build a Red-Green-Blue composite. Band selection is achieved by means of information measures at the first, second and third orders. Irrelevant channels are preliminarily removed by means of a center-surround entropy comparison. A visualization-oriented spectrum segmentation based on the use of color matching functions allows for computational ease and adjustment of the natural rendering. Results from the proposed method are presented and objectively compared to four other dimensionality reduction techniques in terms of naturalness and informative content

International audienceThis paper proposes a one-shot six-channel multispectral color image acquisition system using a stereo camera and a pair of optical filters. The two filters from the best pair, selected from among readily available filters such that they modify the sensitivities of the two cameras in such a way that they produce optimal estimation of spectral reflectance and/or color, are placed in front of the two lenses of the stereo camera. The two images acquired from the stereo camera are then registered for pixel-to-pixel correspondence. The spectral reflectance and/or color at each pixel on the scene are estimated from the corresponding camera outputs in the two images. Both simulations and experiments have shown that the proposed system performs well both spectrally and colorimetrically. Since it acquires the multispectral images in one shot, the proposed system can solve the limitations of slow and complex acquisition process, and costliness of the state of the art multispectral imaging systems, leading to its possible uses in widespread applications

Multispectral color imaging is a promising technology, which can solve many of the problems of traditional RGB color imaging. However, it still lacks widespread and general use because of its limitations. State of the art multispectral imaging systems need multiple shots making it not only slower but also incapable of capturing scenes in motion. Moreover, the systems are mostly costly and complex to operate. The purpose of the work described in this paper is to propose a one-shot six-channel multispectral color image acquisition system using a stereo camera or a pair of cameras in a stereoscopic configuration, and a pair of optical filters. The best pair of filters is selected from among readily available filters such that they modify the sensitivities of the two cameras in such a way that they get spread reasonably well throughout the visible spectrum and gives optimal reconstruction of spectral reflectance and/or color. As the cameras are in a stereoscopic configuration, the system is capable of acquiring 3D images as well, and stereo matching algorithms provide a solution to the image alignment problem. Thus the system can be used as a "two-in-one" multispectral-stereo system. However, this paper mainly focuses on the multispectral part. Both simulations and experiments have shown that the proposed system performs well spectrally and colorimetrically.