# Embedded polarizing filters to separate diffuse and specular reflection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.02608 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.02608/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 6 Nov 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Two-Step Color-Polarization Demosaicking Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.06027/) (2022)
- [Polarization Denoising and Demosaicking: Dataset and Baseline Method](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.10098/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Polarizing filters provide a powerful way to separate diffuse and specular reflection; however, traditional methods rely on several captures and require proper alignment of the filters. Recently, camera manufacturers have proposed to embed polarizing micro-filters in front of the sensor, creating a mosaic of pixels with different polarizations. In this paper, we investigate the advantages of such camera designs. In particular, we consider different design patterns for the filter arrays and propose an algorithm to demosaic an image generated by such cameras. This essentially allows us to separate the diffuse and specular components using a single image. The performance of our algorithm is compared with a color-based method using synthetic and real data. Finally, we demonstrate how we can recover the normals of a scene using the diffuse images estimated by our method.