Color Image Restoration for Underwater Robots and Its Application to Object Detection and Tracking

Abstract

In this paper, the vision-based object detection and tracking techniques for underwater robots have been studied. Underwater vision has not been at the center of attention as an underwater sensor due to the limited detection ranges and the poor visibility. Use of visual data, however, is still an attractive method for underwater sensing and it is especially effective in the close range detections. In order to overcome the limitations of cameras and to make use of the full advantages of image data, a number of approaches have been tested. The topics include color restoration algorithm for the degraded underwater images, detection and tracking methods for underwater target objects. The feasibilities of the proposed algorithms have been demonstrated in the experiments with an underwater robot platform and the results have been analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively.