Open AccessPolarimetric dehazing method for dense haze removal based on distribution analysis of angle of polarization
Author(s) -
Jian Liang,
Liyong Ren,
Haijuan Ju,
Wenfei Zhang,
Enshi Qu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.026146
Subject(s) - haze , visibility , polarimetry , polarization (electrochemistry) , computer science , contrast (vision) , optics , remote sensing , computer vision , scattering , physics , geology , chemistry , meteorology
Many dehazing methods have proven to be effective in removing haze out of the hazy image, but few of them are adaptive in handling the dense haze. In this paper, based on the angle of polarization (AOP) distribution analysis we propose a kind of polarimetric dehazing method, which is verified to be capable of enhancing the contrast and the range of visibility of images taken in dense haze substantially. It is found that the estimating precision of the intensity of airlight is a key factor which determines the dehazing quality, and fortunately our method involves a high precision estimation inherently. In the experiments a good dehazing performance is demonstrated, especially for dense haze removal. We find that the visibility can be enhanced at least 74%. Besides, the method can be used not only in dense haze but also in severe sea fog.