Removing water?? from underwater images

We all know the underwater images divers take. We have seen them before and we have been amazed by the vivid colors and shapes of the bountiful life underwater. Here is an example taken by Derya Akkaynak, she is a diver and a photographer, an underwater photographer.

This is a coral formation which has even more life forms inside and on the surface of it than the lively sea. After observing these underwater photos if you are interested in taking them yourself you will understand that these photos are taken by extra illumination. Because guess what? Sun cannot penetrate more than a few meters into the water, and seas have more life under them than the outer surface layer. On top of artificial illumination (bringing powerful spot lights under water) the optic property of water distorts wavelengths of light. This creates even more problems for photographers as this causes colors to “wash away” especially red and yellow color.

We have seen artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms shine in almost every area regardless of where it should and shouldn’t be successful. However the aforementioned problems with underwater images caused significant delay for artificial intelligence to shine underwater. I have used past tense because the underwater diver and photographer  Derya Akkaynak is also a scientist an engineer and an oceanographer and she developed a lovely algorithm that removes WATER from UNDERWATER images!

Look at the bright and vivid colors of this coral formation, this an outstanding step for science and especially biologists ecologists and anyone whose interest lies underwater should take their time to read the references given below. Before closing let me explain this clearly: CVPR is one of the most prestigious Computer Vision conferences in the world, and her paper is published there. Scientific American is also one of the most prestigious journals around the globe and her work is featured there. And finally I have seen this on the front page of reddit!

Credits for Photos: Derya Akkaynak (Derya means sea in Turkish)

References:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/scuba/comments/dvtbvp/a_new_computer_algorithm_can_essentially_remove/
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sea-thru-brings-clarity-to-underwater-photos1/
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/seeing-through-the-sea/
• http://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_CVPR_2019/html/Akkaynak_Sea-Thru_A_Method_for_Removing_Water_From_Underwater_Images_CVPR_2019_paper.html