Underwater image enhancement based on local contrast correction and multi-scale fusion

Abstract

In this study, an underwater image enhancement method based on local contrast correction (LCC) and multi-scale fusion is proposed to resolve low contrast and color distortion of underwater images. First, the original image is compensated using the red channel, and the compensated image is processed with a white balance. Second, LCC and image sharpening are carried out to generate two different image versions. Finally, the local contrast corrected images are fused with sharpened images by the multi-scale fusion method. The results show that the proposed method can be applied to water degradation images in different environments without resorting to an image formation model. It can effectively solve color distortion, low contrast, and unobvious details of underwater images.