Low complexity contrast enhancement algorithm for nighttime visual surveillance

This paper presents a new algorithm for nighttime contrast enhancement. The proposed algorithm modifies the traditional histogram equalization algorithm to maintain the color information of the original nighttime images. The algorithm has a low computational cost that makes it suitable for real-time hardware implementation. In addition, its efficient hardware implementation is detailed on a Xilinx Spartan3A DSP XC3SD3400A device. The targeted resolution is 1920×1080@30fps. The hardware prototype utilizes 6.45% of the slices, 1.59% of the Block RAMs, and 7.14% of the DSP48As available in Spartan3A DSP XC3SD3400A device.