Principles of Remote sensing

Chapter-Eight: Image enhancement

By: Kinfe W.
 Outlines

• Definitions of image enhancement

• Contrast manipulation

• Histogram Equalization

• Spatial feature manipulation

• Multi-image manipulation
 Image Enhancement

• Enhancements are used to make it easier for visual interpretation and understanding of
imagery.

• Image 'enhancement' is basically anything that makes it easier or better to visually interpret
an image.

• The process of manipulating an image so that the result is more suitable than the original
for specific applications.

• The idea behind enhancement techniques is to bring out details that are hidden, or simple to
highlight certain features of interest in an image.
 Image Enhancement
• To more effectively display or record the data, increasing the visual distinctions between
features in a scene

• Contrast manipulation: stretching

• Contrast enhancement involves changing the original values so that more of the available
range is used, thereby increasing the contrast between targets and their backgrounds.

• understanding contrast enhancements is to understand the concept of an image histogram.

• Image histogram is a graphical representation of the brightness values (0-255) that comprise
an image. 8-bit image
(0 - 255 brightness levels)

Image Histogram
x-axis = 0 to 255
y-axis = number of pixels
 Image Example

before
3000
after
2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0 50 100 150 200

before equalization 5
after equalization
 Image Enhancement

• Spatial feature manipulation:

– Filtering
– Convolution
– Edge enhancement
– Fourier

• Enhancement involving multiple bands of an image

 Image enhancement
• image reduction,
• image magnification,
• transect extraction,
• contrast adjustments (linear and non-linear),
• band rationing,
• spatial filtering,
• Fourier transformations,
• Principle components analysis,
• Texture transformations, and
• Image sharpening
 Cont.….

• One of the strengths of image processing is that it gives us the ability to enhance the view
of an area by manipulating the pixel values, it make`s easier for visual interpretation.

• There are several techniques which we can use to enhance an image, such as Contrast
Stretching and Spatial Filtering.
 Contrast Stretching

• Quite often the useful data in a digital image populates only a small portion of the available
range of digital values (commonly 8 bits or 256 levels).

• Contrast enhancement involves changing the original values so that more of the available
range is used, this then increases the contrast between features and their backgrounds.
There are several types of contrast enhancements which can be subdivided into Linear
and Non-Linear procedures.
 Digital Negative

Contrast Stretching

10
 Cont.…
• Top row of images are ETM+ data with no enhancement and bottom row consists of linear
contrast stretches of the image DNs to the full 0-255 gray shades
 cont.…
• Linear Contrast Stretch: This involves identifying lower and upper bounds from the histogram (usually the
minimum and maximum brightness values in the image) and applying a transformation to stretch this range to
fill the full range.

• It making visual interpretation much easier.

• Equalized Contrast Stretch: This stretch assigns more display values (range) to the frequently occurring
portions of the histogram. In this way, the detail in these areas will be better enhanced relative to those areas
of the original histogram where values occur less frequently.
 Spatial Filtering
• Spatial filters are designed to highlight or suppress features in an image based on their
spatial frequency.
• Spatial frequency is related to the textural characteristics of an image.
• Rapid variations in brightness levels ('roughness') reflect a high spatial frequency; 'smooth'
areas with little variation in brightness level or tone are characterized by a low spatial
frequency.
• Spatial filters are used to suppress 'noise' in an image, or to highlight specific image
characteristics.
• Low-pass Filters
• High-pass Filters
• Directional (edge detection) Filters
 Cont.…
• Low-pass Filters: These are used to emphasize large homogenous areas of similar tone
and reduce the smaller detail. Low frequency areas are retained in the image resulting in
a smoother appearance to the image.

Linear Stretched Image Low-pass Filter Image

 Cont.…

• High-pass Filters: allow high frequency areas to pass with the resulting image having
greater detail resulting in a sharpened image
Linear Contrast Stretch Hi-pass Filter
 High Pass Filter

Original Image High Pass Filter

 Cont.…

• Directional Filters:are designed to enhance linear features such as roads, streams, faults,
[Link] filters can be designed to enhance features which are oriented in specific
directions, making these useful for radar imagery and for geological applications.
Directional filters are also known as edge detection filters.

Edge Detection Lakes & Streams

Edge Detection Fractures & Shoreline

Pan Sharpening
 Spatial feature manipulation (cont.)
• Edge enhancement
– Typical procedures
• Roughness  kernel size
– Rough  small
– Smooth  large
• Add back a fraction of gray level to the high frequency component image
– High frequency  exaggerate local contrast but lose low frequency brightness information
• Contrast stretching
– Directional first differencing
• Determine the first derivative of gray levels with respect to a given direction
• Normally add the display value median back to keep all positive values
• Contrast stretching
 Band rationing
• It is possible to divide the digital numbers of one image band by those of another image
band to create a third image.

• Ratio images may be used to remove the influence of light and shadow on a elevation due
to the sun angle.

• It is also possible to calculate certain indices which can enhance vegetation or geology.
Image
Sensor EM Spectrum Application
Ratio
Landsat TM Bands 3/2 red/green Soils
Landsat TM Bands 4/3 PhotoIR/red Biomass
Landsat TM Bands 7/5 SWIR/NIR Clay Minerals/Rock Alteration
For example:
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI):
a commonly use vegetation index which uses the red and infrared bands of the EM spectrum.
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