Illuminant Color Estimation Method Based on Pseudo-Detection of Specular Reflection

White balance (WB) is the correction process to remove unrealistic color casts caused by an illuminant color. For high-quality image correction, it is important to accurately estimate the illuminant color. In this study, we propose an accurate illuminant color estimation method for WB based on pseudo-detection of specular reflection. In the proposed method, pixels which are brighter than their neighborhood and their neighboring darker pixels are found at first. Then, the averages of their pixel values are calculated respectively, and then the specular reflection is detected approximately as the difference of the average values. Finally, the illuminant color is estimated as the specular reflection itself. The accurate estimation capability of the proposed method is verified through a series of comparative experiments with typical WB methods.