4×4 RGBC: A CFA with the Best of Bayer and RCCB

The pursuit of enhanced low-light imaging capabilities has prompted the use of RCCB Color Filter Arrays, which replace the traditional green color filters in Bayer CFAs with clear filters. However, the RCCB’s compromised color accuracy has resulted in the continued use of the Bayer CFA.

We propose a 4×4 RGBC pattern which combines the superior low-light SNR of RCCB with the excellent color accuracy of Bayer. Half of this pattern’s pixels are clear, while the remaining half is distributed among red, green, and blue colors following a density and arrangement similar to the Bayer pattern. Leveraging multispectral demosaicking techniques, we achieve a high chrominance bandwidth despite the sparse distribution of RGB pixels. This high chrominance bandwidth enables long-distance traffic light recognition comparable to that of the Bayer CFA.