Unveiling the hidden depths: advancements in underwater image enhancement using deep learning and auto-encoders

Underwater images hold immense value for various fields, including marine biology research, underwater infrastructure inspection, and exploration activities. However, capturing high-quality images underwater proves challenging due to light absorption and scattering leading to color distortion, blue green hues. Additionally, these phenomena decrease contrast and visibility, hindering the ability to extract valuable information. Existing image enhancement methods often struggle to achieve accurate color correction while preserving crucial image details. This article proposes a novel deep learning-based approach for underwater image enhancement that leverages the power of autoencoders. Specifically, a convolutional autoencoder is trained to learn a mapping from the distorted colors present in underwater images to their true, color-corrected counterparts. The proposed model is trained and tested using the Enhancing Underwater Visual Perception (EUVP) and Underwater Image Enhancement Benchmark (UIEB) datasets. The performance of the model is evaluated and compared with various traditional and deep learning based image enhancement techniques using the quality measures structural similarity index (SSIM), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and mean squared error (MSE). This research aims to address the critical limitations of current techniques by offering a superior method for underwater image enhancement by improving color fidelity and better information extraction capabilities for various applications. Our proposed color correction model based on encoder decoder network achieves higher SSIM and PSNR values.