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Underwater Image Enhancement and Restoration Techniques: A Comprehensive Review, Challenges, and Future Trends

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Image and Graphics Technologies and Applications (IGTA 2023)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1910))

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Abstract

Underwater optical images serve as crucial carriers and representations of ocean information. They play a vital role in the field of marine exploration. However, the quality of images captured by underwater cameras often falls short of the expected standards due to the complex underwater environment. This limitation significantly hampers the application and advancement of intelligent underwater image processing systems. Consequently, underwater image enhancement and restoration have been attracting extensive research efforts. In this paper, we review the degradation mechanisms and imaging models of underwater images, and summarize the challenges associated with underwater image enhancement and restoration. Meanwhile, we provide a comprehensive overview of the research progress in underwater optical image enhancement and restoration, and introduces the publicly available underwater image datasets and commonly-used quality evaluation metrics. Through extensive and systematic experiments, the superiority and limitations of underwater image enhancement and restoration methods are further explored. Finally, this review discusses the existing issues in this field and prospects future research directions. It is hoped that this paper will provide valuable references for future studies and contribute to the advancement of research in this domain.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province under Grant 2022J05117.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fujian Key Lab for Intelligent Processing and Wireless Transmission of Media Information, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Mingjie Wang, Fengquan Lan, Zezhao Su & Weiling Chen

Authors
  1. Mingjie Wang
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  2. Fengquan Lan
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  3. Zezhao Su
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  4. Weiling Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Weiling Chen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Wang Yongtian

  2. Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China

    Wu Lifang

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Wang, M., Lan, F., Su, Z., Chen, W. (2023). Underwater Image Enhancement and Restoration Techniques: A Comprehensive Review, Challenges, and Future Trends. In: Yongtian, W., Lifang, W. (eds) Image and Graphics Technologies and Applications. IGTA 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1910. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7549-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7549-5_1

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