This paper presents a real time automatic image correction technique operating under real-time constraints (25ms) to address red dot artifacts in low resolution display panels. The algorithm is designed as a two stage process, starting with the identification of pixels which could cause such artifacts followed by a color correction scheme to compensate for any perceived visual errors. Artifact inducing pixels are identified by thresholding the vector color gradient of the image. The color levels of the adjacent subpixels around the artifacts are estimated based on partitive spatial color mixing. Red dot artifacts occur as singlet, couplets or triplets and consequently three different correction schemes are explored. The algorithm also ensures that artifacts occurring at junctions, corners and cross sections are corrected without affecting the underlying shape or contextual sharpness. The performance of our algorithm was benchmarked using a series of 30 corrected and uncorrected images by human observers. This algorithm is designed as a general purpose color correction technique for display panels with an offset in their subpixel patterns and can be easily implemented as an isolated real time post processing technique for the output display buffer without any higher order processing or image content information. All the above mentioned benefits are realized through software and don’t require any upgrade or replacement of existing hardware.

Date Published: 8 February 2015
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9395, Color Imaging XX: Displaying, Processing, Hardcopy, and Applications, 939509 (8 February 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2078350

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9395:
Color Imaging XX: Displaying, Processing, Hardcopy, and Applications
Reiner Eschbach; Gabriel G. Marcu; Alessandro Rizzi, Editor(s)