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White Balance

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Computer Vision

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Synonyms

Automatic white balance (AWB); Color balance

Related Concepts

Definition

White balance is the term given to the process of removing the color cast in a captured image that is induced by the color of the illuminant. This is typically done by changing the overall proportion of colors in an image to provide an overall balance by keeping neutral colors neutral in their reproduction.

Background

The human visual system has the capability of mapping “white” colors to the sensation of “white” even when lighting conditions change in color. This is easily illustrated by looking at a white sheet of paper under indoor incandescent lighting and outdoor sunlight. In both cases the paper would appear white to our visual system, but appear yellowish and bluish in color, respectively, to a digital color camera. This psychophysical phenomenon is referred to as color constancy.

Similarly, a yellowish-white light (such as an incandescent bulb)...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. San Jose, CA, USA

    Rajeev Ramanath

  2. School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Mark S. Drew

Authors
  1. Rajeev Ramanath
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  2. Mark S. Drew
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Section Editor information

  1. Osaka University, Suita, Japan

    Yasuyuki Matsushita

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Ramanath, R., Drew, M.S. (2020). White Balance. In: Computer Vision. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03243-2_467-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03243-2_467-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03243-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03243-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Computer SciencesReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

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