Adaptively optimizing stochastic resonance in visual system

Recent psychophysics experiment has showed that the noise strength could affect the perceived image quality. This work gives an adaptive process for achieving the optimal perceived image quality in a simple image perception array, which is a simple model of an image sensor. A reference image from memory is used for constructing a cost function and defining the optimal noise strength where the cost function gets its minimum point. The reference image is a binary image, which is used to define the background and the object. Finally, an adaptive algorithm is proposed for searching the optimal noise strength. Computer experimental results show that if the reference image is a thresholded version of the sub-threshold input image then the output of the sensor array gives an optimal output, in which the background and the object have the biggest contrast. If the reference image is different from a thresholded version of the sub-threshold input image then the output usually gives a sub-optimal contrast between the object and the background. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.