A Total Variation Approach for
Customizing Imagery to Improve Visual Acuity

Ignacio Garcia-Dorado*1    Carlos Montalto*1    Daniel G. Aliaga1    Manuel M. Oliveira2    Feng Meng1

1Purdue University
2Instituto de Informática, UFRGS

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH) 2015

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Abstract

We describe a technique to generate imagery with improved sharpness for individuals having refractive vision problems. Our method can reduce their dependence on corrective eyewear. It also benefits individuals with normal vision by improving visual acuity at a distance and of small details. Our approach does not require custom hardware. Instead, the calculated images can be shown on a standard computer display, on printed paper, or superimposed on a physical scene using a projector. Our technique uses a constrained total variation method to produce a deconvolution result which, upon observation, appears sharp at the edges. We introduce a novel relative total variation term that enables controlling ringing reduction, contrast gain, and sharpness. The end result is the ability to generate sharper appearing images, even for individuals with refractive vision problems including myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, and astigmatism. Our approach has been validated in simulation, in camera-screen experiments, and in a study with human observers.

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Citation

Ignacio Garcia-Dorado*, Carlos Montalto*, Daniel Aliaga, Manuel M. Oliveira, and Feng Meng. 2015. A Total Variation Approach for Customizing Imagery to Improve Visual Acuity. ACM Trans. Graph. 34, 3, Article 28 (May 2015), 16 pages. 

@article{GDMAOF*2015,
	author = {Garcia-Dorado, Ignacio* and Montalto, Carlos* and Aliaga, Daniel and Oliveira, Manuel M. and Meng, Feng},
	title = {A Total Variation Approach for Customizing Imagery to Improve Visual Acuity},
	journal = {ACM Trans. Graph.},
	issue_date = {April 2015},
	volume = {34},
	number = {3},
	month = may,
	year = {2015},
	issn = {0730-0301},
	pages = {28:1--28:16},
	articleno = {28},
	numpages = {16},
	url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2717307},
	doi = {10.1145/2717307},
	acmid = {2717307},
	publisher = {ACM},
	address = {New York, NY, USA},
	keywords = {Displays, deconvolution, high contrast, image correction, sharpness, total variation}
}
* The first two authors contributed equally to this work.