Enhancement of IR images using histogram processing and the Undecimated additive wavelet transform

This paper presents a fabulous enhancement approach for infrared (IR) images. This approach mixes the benefits of the undecimated Additive Wavelet Transform (AWT) with the homomorphic transform and Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE). The basic idea of this approach depends on applying the CLAHE on the IR image. Then, the resultant image is decomposed into sub-bands using the AWT. The homomorphic enhancement is implemented on each sub-band, separately, up to the sixth sub-band. The homomorphic enhancement is applied on the IR image in the log domain by decomposing the image into illumination and reflectance components. The illumination is attenuated, while the reflectance is magnified. Applying this method on each sub-band gives more details in the IR image. The performance quality metrics for the suggested approach are entropy, average gradient, contrast, and Sobel edge magnitude. Simulation results reveal the success of the proposed approach in enhancing the quality of IR images.