An Advanced Single-Image Visibility Restoration Algorithm for Real-World Hazy Scenes

Abstract— Images captured during sandstorm conditions frequently feature degraded visibility and undesirable color cast effects. In such situations, traditional visibility restoration approaches usually cannot adequately restore images due to poor estimation of haze thickness and the persistence of color cast problems. A novel Laplacian-based visibility restoration approach to effectively solve inadequate haze thickness estimation and alleviate color cast problems. By doing so, a high-quality image with clear visibility and vivid color can be generated. Experimental results via qualitative and quantitative evaluations demonstrate that the proposed method can dramatically improve images captured during inclement weather conditions and produce results superior to those of other state-of-the-art methods. Multiple-image approaches adopt two or more images of the same scene, which are captured by using specific hardware, e.g., a rotating polarizing filter, to effectively construct the scene depth information and further achieve visibility restoration of incoming hazy images. Unfortunately, the use of these multiple-image approaches usually requires either excessive hardware expense or special devices. < final year projects >