Evaluation Framework for Multiband Image Enhancement and Blending Algorithms in Enhanced Flight Vision Systems

Multiband imaging (the combination of image information from different spectral bands) is becoming a very common tool for image enhancement under low visibility conditions, due to the advances and cost reductions in imaging technology, particularly infrared (IR) sensors. As part of the development of an enhanced flight vision system (EFVS), this work proposes a laboratory setup to perform low visibility experiments in a controlled environment, as well as a set of methods to analyze and select the most adequate spectral bands in different scenarios. To serve as a starting point for similar research, a series of state-of-the-art band blending algorithms are provided, along with an evaluation of their performance on selected images regarding image quality and computation time.