Clear Pictures From Muddy Water

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You don’t get to see in muddy water. This is because of diffused light. Nonetheless, it is possible to take pictures in it. At least it will be thanks to a new method that connects classical polarimetric imaging with an algorithm that automatically finds the perfect parameters to fight the bad conditions.


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Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

Taking photos underwater is complicated. And muddy water is ever harder. Whenever you scatter particles in water they have a tendency to scatter light-rays making the final image not that good. Nonetheless, scattered light is still partially polarized. The correct use of a camera sensitive to polarization can suppress the scattered light.

Haofeng Hu from the Tianjin University in China and his colleagues developed a new method that allows them to automatically take clear pictures in muddy water. As Hu says, their method overcomes the limitations of traditional polarimetric imaging underwater. And unlike previous technologies, it doesn’t come with any special requirements such as an appropriate background.

The researchers have proven that their technology works even if the water is so muddy that human eyes can’t see practically anything through it. But those aren’t the limits of their technology. He and his colleagues believe that it will perform as well in other similarly unfavorable conditions such as mist or smoke.

Traditional approaches to underwater imaging with polarized light require preliminary knowledge about the place which will be imaged or of the background of the image to remove the scattered light. But that is a major complication. Such images usually need to be edited manually and sometimes the required information about the background just isn’t available.

The Chinese team combined classical polarimetric imaging with a new algorithm that will automatically find the optimal parameters for the image to get rid of the scattered light. Thanks to their approach the contrast of the image and that also gets rid of the need to work with the information of the image’s environment.

Hu and his colleagues checked the technology in a series of laboratory experiments. They started with clean water and over time created differently muddy environments by adding milk into the water. They then took pictures of different materials such as wood, plastic, or ceramics. Now tests in real-world conditions will follow such as in the ocean. The new technology promises many different applications such as search parties, underwater archaeology, monitoring of underwater farms, piping, or cables.

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