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Underwater image enhancement method via multi-feature prior fusion

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Abstract

The information in a single underwater image is insufficient due to the complexity of the underwater environment, which makes it challenging to meet the expectations of marine research. In this paper, we proposed a visual quality enhancement method for underwater images based on multi-feature prior fusion (MFPF), achieved by extracting and fusing multiple feature priors of underwater images. Complementary multi-features enhance the visual quality of underwater images. We designed a color correction method based on self-adaptive standard deviation, which realizes the color offset correction based on the dominant color of the underwater image. A gamma correction power function and spatial linear adjustment were also applied to achieve a set of artificial exposure map sequences obtained from a single degraded image and enhance the dark area’s brightness and structural details. This design makes full use of the advantages of white balance, guided filtering, and multi-exposure sequence technology. And it uses a multi-scale fusion of various prior features to enhance underwater images. The experimental results show that by applying the multi-feature prior fusion scheme, this design comprehensively solves various degenerated problems, removes over-enhancement, and improves dark details.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the data set provided by the joint laboratory of the Dalian University of Technology and Zhangzidao Group. We are also extremely grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their critical comments on the manuscript.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61702074); the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20170520196); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos.3132019205 and 3132019354).

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  1. College of Information Science and Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, 116026, China

    Jingchun Zhou, Dehuan Zhang & Weishi Zhang

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  1. Jingchun Zhou
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Correspondence to Jingchun Zhou or Weishi Zhang.

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Zhou, J., Zhang, D. & Zhang, W. Underwater image enhancement method via multi-feature prior fusion. Appl Intell 52, 16435–16457 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10489-022-03275-z

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