Underwater Image Fusion Enhancement Algorithm based on Color Correction and Sharpening

Abstract

To address the challenges of low brightness, color distortion, and blurred details caused by complex subaqueous environments, a novel underwater image fusion and enhancement algorithm based on color correction and image sharpening has been proposed. Firstly, the ACE algorithm is used to correct and enhance the color, and then apply gamma correction to the V channel of the HSV three channels to improve brightness. Concurrently, the Laplace algorithm is used to sharpen the color-corrected image. Finally, we use a wavelet transform fusion algorithm to fuse the images. Experimental results on multiple underwater images under different scenarios show that the algorithm achieves good color correction and enhancement of details from a subjective perspective. From an objective perspective, the algorithm performs better than others in terms of the IE, UIQM, and UICQE mean evaluations. The algorithm improves the mean evaluation by 24.1%, 1.88 times, and more than 44.6% respectively compared with the raw images. These results indicate that the algorithm performs better than other algorithms in underwater image processing, with the advantage of maximizing the preservation of image information, making it suitable for various situations.