Artifacts in wavelet image merging

Intensity modulation (IM), intensity-hue-saturation (IHS), and multiresolution wavelet decomposition (MWD) are ad hoc image merging techniques that enhance low-spatial-resolution color imagery with high-resolution black and white imagery. While the MWD is a relatively new technique, both IM and IHS can be found in commercial software. These three merging techniques are compared to find which best retains spectral fidelity while adding spatial information. With this criterion, merging artifacts are identified and characterized. Specifically, the three techniques were tested with respect to resampling, misregistration, intensity variance, and complexity problems that arise in multiresolution image merging. Test images were used allowing the mean difference, standard deviation difference, entropy difference, and affected area to be calculated. (C) 1996 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.