Presenting nighttime imagery in daytime colours

We present a fast and efficient method to derive and apply natural colours to nighttime imagery from multiband sensors. The colour mapping is derived from the combination of a multiband image and a corresponding daytime colour reference. The mapping optimizes the match between the multiband image and the reference, and yields a nightvision image with colours similar to the daytime image. The mapping procedure is simple and fast. Once it has been derived the colour mapping can be deployed in realtime. Different colour schemes can be used tailored to the environment and the application. The expectation is that by displaying nighttime imagery in natural colours human observers will be able to interpret the imagery better and faster, thereby improving situational awareness and reducing detection times.