Wong, J K W; Maghrebi, M; Ahmadian Fard Fini, A; Alizadeh Golestani, M A; Ahmadnia, M and Er, M (2024) Development of a refined illumination and reflectance approach for optimal construction site interior image enhancement. Construction Innovation, 24(2), pp. 470-491. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose: Images taken from construction site interiors often suffer from low illumination and poor natural colors, which restrict their application for high-level site management purposes. The state-of-the-art low-light image enhancement method provides promising image enhancement results. However, they generally require a longer execution time to complete the enhancement. This study aims to develop a refined image enhancement approach to improve execution efficiency and performance accuracy. Design/methodology/approach: To develop the refined illumination enhancement algorithm named enhanced illumination quality (EIQ), a quadratic expression was first added to the initial illumination map. Subsequently, an adjusted weight matrix was added to improve the smoothness of the illumination map. A coordinated descent optimization algorithm was then applied to minimize the processing time. Gamma correction was also applied to further enhance the illumination map. Finally, a frame comparing and averaging method was used to identify interior site progress. Findings: The proposed refined approach took around 4.36–4.52 s to achieve the expected results while outperforming the current low-light image enhancement method. EIQ demonstrated a lower lightness-order error and provided higher object resolution in enhanced images. EIQ also has a higher structural similarity index and peak-signal-to-noise ratio, which indicated better image reconstruction performance. Originality/value: The proposed approach provides an alternative to shorten the execution time, improve equalization of the illumination map and provide a better image reconstruction. The approach could be applied to low-light video enhancement tasks and other dark or poor jobsite images for object detection processes.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction site; enhanced image quality; illumination map; indoor; low-light image enhancement; photogrammetry |
| Index terms: | resolution, site management, reconstruction, efficiency, image quality, object detection, optimization algorithm, methodology, state of the art, construction site, accuracy |
| Subjects: | building construction, conflict resolution, professional development, computer vision, algorithms, research methods, performance management, construction operations, work location, research dissemination and communication |
| Topics: | Site Management, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Stakeholder Management, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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