Adaptive video filtering framework

We present a new 3D adaptive filtering approach capable of detecting and removing impulsive noise in image/video sequences. The proposed method takes advantage of switching median schemes and robust lower‐upper‐middle (LUM) smoothing characteristics. Simulation studies reported in this article indicate that the proposed filtering scheme achieves an excellent trade‐off between noise attenuation and detail preserving characteristics, and clearly outperforms previously introduced approaches in terms of subjective and objective image quality measures. Besides the filter analysis and the testing of its performance, an important part of this article discusses the filter implementation in Altera field programmable logic devices (FPLD). Simulation studies indicate that the proposed method can be efficiently implemented in hardware and is suitable for real‐time image/video processing applications. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Imaging Syst Technol 14, 223–237, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.20027