Histogram Enhancement Using Adaptive Segmentation Algorithm

An image enhancement algorithm based on adaptive segmentation for image contrast enhancement is presented. In this study, an automatic adaptive segmentation histogram enhancement (ASHE), based on discriminant analysis, is utilized to recursively segment an image into several clusters first. After segmentation, different object and background components are segmented into separate clusters, called object planes. Then, the dynamic range of each object plane is adjusted according to its visual characteristics. Finally, each object plane is enhanced within the new dynamic range respectively. Because the proposed algorithm can automatically segment an image into different object planes and enhance the image according to the visual characteristic of each object plane, each object and background components of the image can be well enhanced. Experimental results for poor-contrast images and the comparisons for some of the previous studies are provided to demonstrate the robustness, visual quality, and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.