Evaluation of Uniform Color Spaces Developed after the Adoption of CIELAB and CIELUV

Abstract

Since the adoption of the color spaces CIELAB and CIELUV by the CIE in 1976, several other uniform spaces have been developed. We studied most of these spaces and evaluated their uniformity for small as well as larger color differences. Therefore, several criteria have been defined based on color discrimination data and appearance systems. The main difference between color spaces based on discrimination data and spaces that model appearance systems is reflected in a different size of the chroma distance unit compared with the lightness unit. If spaces based on the same kind of data (discrimination data or appearance systems) are compared with each other, they are all almost equally uniform. BFD (l:c), for example, is said to be more uniform than CMC(l:c), but, based on confidence intervals of 65%, there is no significant difference between them. If the proposed color difference formula of the CIE is compared with these distance functions, it also performs equally well. The SVF space and OSA 90 space on the other hand should be better than OSA 74. However, as opposed to what was expected, OSA 74 is slightly better; but, also in this case, the difference between the spaces is insignificant.