A Real-Time Effective Fusion-Based Image Defogging Architecture on FPGA

Foggy weather reduces the visibility of photographed objects, causing image distortion and decreasing overall image quality. Many approaches (e.g., image restoration, image enhancement, and fusion-based methods) have been proposed to work out the problem. However, most of these defogging algorithms are facing challenges such as algorithm complexity or real-time processing requirements. To simplify the defogging process, we propose a fusional defogging algorithm on the linear transmission of gray single-channel. This method combines gray single-channel linear transform with high-boost filtering according to different proportions. To enhance the visibility of the defogging image more effectively, we convert the RGB channel into a gray-scale single channel without decreasing the defogging results. After gray-scale fusion, the data in the gray-scale domain should be linearly transmitted. With the increasing real-time requirements for clear images, we also propose an efficient real-time FPGA defogging architecture. The architecture optimizes the data path of the guided filtering to speed up the defogging speed and save area and resources. Because the pixel reading order of mean and square value calculations are identical, the shift register in the box filter after the average and the computation of the square values is separated from the box filter and put on the input terminal for sharing, saving the storage area. What’s more, using LUTs instead of the multiplier can decrease the time delays of the square value calculation module and increase efficiency. Experimental results show that the linear transmission can save 66.7% of the total time. The architecture we proposed can defog efficiently and accurately, meeting the real-time defogging requirements on 1920 × 1080 image size.