Separating reflections from images by use of independent component analysis

Abstract

The image of an object can vary dramatically, depending on lighting, specularities, reflections, and shadows. It is often advantageous to separate these incidental variations from the intrinsic aspects of an image. We describe a method for photographing objects behind glass and digitally removing the reflections from the surface of the glass, leaving the image of the objects behind the glass intact. We describe the details of this method, which employs simple optical techniques and independent component analysis and show its efficacy with several examples.