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Influence of scene statistics on colour constancy

Nature volume 415, pages 637–640 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The light reflected from an object depends not only on the surface properties of this object but also on the illuminant. The same is true for the excitations of the photoreceptors, which serve as the basis for the perceived colour. However, our visual system has the ability to perceive constant surface colours despite changes in illumination1. The average chromaticity of the retinal image of a scene depends on the illumination, and thus might be used by the visual system to estimate the illumination and to modulate the correction that subserves colour constancy2,3,4. But this measure is not sufficient: a reddish scene under white light can produce the same mean stimulation as a neutral scene in red light. Higher order scene statistics—for example, the correlation between redness and luminance within the image—allow these cases to be distinguished. Here we report that the human visual system does exploit such a statistic when estimating the illuminant, and gives it a weight that is statistically appropriate for the natural environment.

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Figure 1: The ambiguity of the mean image chromaticity for estimating the illuminant, and two possibilities for resolving it using a higher order statistic (luminance–redness correlation).
Figure 2: Dependence of centre test spot settings on the luminance–redness correlation within the surround.
Figure 3: Luminance–redness correlation and mean redness of natural scenes under different illuminations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. L. Ruderman, T. W. Cronin and C. C. Chiao for their spectral data of natural scenes. This work was supported by the National Eye Institute. J. Golz was supported by the German–American Fulbright Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Kiel, Kiel, 24098, Germany

    Jürgen Golz

  2. Department of Psychology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, 93093-0109, California, USA

    Donald I. A. MacLeod

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  1. Jürgen Golz
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  2. Donald I. A. MacLeod
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Correspondence to Jürgen Golz.

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Golz, J., MacLeod, D. Influence of scene statistics on colour constancy. Nature 415, 637–640 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/415637a

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