The task of low-light image enhancement, in which the quality of images captured in low illumination conditions is enhanced, has high importance within industrial, security and scientific applications. In this paper we discuss Vision Enhancement via Virtual diffraction and coherent Detection (VEViD), a novel physics-inspired algorithm in which we map the physics of diffractive optics and phase detection to that of digital image processing. By applying virtual diffraction, we create a nontrivial spatial phase profile that encodes an enhanced version of the incoming image, a version in which the image’s previously unseen low-light details are made accessible to human and computer perception.

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Callen MacPhee and Bahram Jalali, "Vision enhancement via virtual diffraction and coherent detection (VEViD): a physics-inspired low-light enhancement algorithm," Proc. SPIE PC12438, AI and Optical Data Sciences IV, PC124380P (Presented at SPIE OPTO: February 02, 2023; Published: 17 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2659098.6321436798112.