UIEOGP: an underwater image enhancement method based on optical geometric properties

Area of Science:

• Computer Vision
• Image Processing
• Optics

Background:

• Underwater images suffer from color casts, blur, and low visibility due to light absorption and scattering.
• Existing methods struggle to effectively address these degradation issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a robust and efficient underwater image enhancement method (UIEOGP).
• To improve color accuracy, contrast, and detail in underwater images.
• To enhance performance in downstream image processing tasks.

Main Methods:

• Estimating depth of field using Lambert Beer's law and variance changes.
• Applying a local-based color correction algorithm using statistical distribution.
• Implementing detail enhancement based on geometric properties (circles and ellipses).

Main Results:

• UIEOGP effectively corrects color casts, enhances contrast, and sharpens details.
• The method produces visually vibrant and clear underwater images.
• Experimental results demonstrate superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Conclusions:

• UIEOGP is a highly effective method for underwater image enhancement.
• The proposed technique significantly improves image quality and is beneficial for subsequent processing tasks like keypoint and edge detection.