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Via Andrew J. Ensor

Carnegie Mellon creates smart system to automatically enhance underexposed photos

PITTSBURGH–Carnegie Mellon University robotics researcher Vladimir Brajovic has developed a tool that automatically improves the appearance of darkened or underexposed photographs by digitally adding light to dark areas. The Shadow Illuminator, funded through a $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, was developed originally to help robots see better. Using principles based on the physics of how optical images are formed, Shadow Illuminator imitates the vision processes that take place in the human eye. It examines the content of a photograph, estimates the illumination conditions and then brightens shadows. It also enhances details within the shadow. “Shadow Illuminator is intelligent and works consistently for all pictures,” said Brajovic, director of the Computational Sensor Laboratory in Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute.

“It provides the same results quickly and eliminates the hassle of manually adjusting photographs.” According to Brajovic, traditional image-enhancement tools manipulate the color and intensity of the pixels of an image regardless of its content, relying on human judgment to determine what parts of an image need adjustment. Applying this process to each image can become tedious and time consuming. “While there are other programs that enable users to manually produce similar results, you have to figure out what works for each individual picture,” Brajovic said. The Shadow Illuminator, which has a patent pending on its technology, is being commercialized by Intrigue Technologies, Inc., a company formed by Brajovic that specializes in software and hardware for electronic imaging under difficult lighting conditions. Visitors to Shadow Illuminator, a free site can upload pictures and apply Shadow Illuminator to achieve brighter, clearer results. For visitors who sign up for a free account, the site also creates a personalized album to hold their uploaded photos.

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Seshu is an Avon, Connecticut based headshot photographer and family portrait photographer. He edits and publishes Tiffinbox and produces Tiffincast for photographers like you!

Comments

  1. Abhimanyu Chirimar says

    This is a really solid idea. However I have a tool for Photoshop by DCE, which I use for party photos, in dark surroundings and the like, which does pretty much the same thing. I am sure this is at some next level, however am going to evaluate this one for sure.

  2. Abhimanyu Chirimar says

    This is a really solid idea. However I have a tool for Photoshop by DCE, which I use for party photos, in dark surroundings and the like, which does pretty much the same thing. I am sure this is at some next level, however am going to evaluate this one for sure.

  3. Abhimanyu Chirimar says

    Ok, I just tried it out. Now, I maybe off the hook here, but the DCE Tools I have for photoshop seemed to create lesser hot pixels than the online one. I think I am sticking with my plugin, on this one.

  4. Abhimanyu Chirimar says

    Ok, I just tried it out. Now, I maybe off the hook here, but the DCE Tools I have for photoshop seemed to create lesser hot pixels than the online one. I think I am sticking with my plugin, on this one.

  5. Seshu says

    Abhimanyu

    Thanks for the comments. Mind telling us what DCE is, what they can do and where one can find this plugin? A URL would be great.

  6. Seshu says

    Abhimanyu

    Thanks for the comments. Mind telling us what DCE is, what they can do and where one can find this plugin? A URL would be great.

  7. Abhimanyu Chirimar says

    Hi,
    DCE Tools are plugins for Photoshop for digital photographers. They have tools like AutoEnhance, Color Correction, Exposure Compensation, Hot Pixels Fix etc. The one we are talking about here is Exposure Compensation. This is pretty much the same thing as ShadowIlluminator, but I find the plugin to work better.

    BTW, there are more plugins out there like this, which I couldnt afford to buy.

    http://www.mediachance.com/plugins/ – Here’s an url for you all to check out.

  8. Abhimanyu Chirimar says

    Hi,
    DCE Tools are plugins for Photoshop for digital photographers. They have tools like AutoEnhance, Color Correction, Exposure Compensation, Hot Pixels Fix etc. The one we are talking about here is Exposure Compensation. This is pretty much the same thing as ShadowIlluminator, but I find the plugin to work better.

    BTW, there are more plugins out there like this, which I couldnt afford to buy.

    http://www.mediachance.com/plugins/ – Here’s an url for you all to check out.

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