A novel algorithm for color constancy

David A. Forsyth

Abstract: Color constancy is the skill by which it is possible to tell the color of an object even under a colored light. I interpret the color of an object as its color under a fixed canonical light, rather than as a surface reflectance function. This leads to an analysis that shows two distinct sets of circumstances under which color constancy is possible. In this framework, color constancy requires estimating the illuminant under which the image was taken. The estimate is then used to choose one of a set of linear maps, which is applied to the image to yield a color descriptor at each point. This set of maps is computed in advance.