Advanced television systems for undersea use

The viewing range and resolution capabilities of underwater television systems are often limited due to absorption and scattering properties of sea water. An additional problem with present systems is the lack of display realism needed for close vehicle guidance and effective control of undersea teleoperator systems. This paper discusses various imaging techniques which can be used to improve underwater visibility, and describes tests which were conducted to compare the performance of several underwater television systems. Improvements in display realism through the use of head-coupled television and stereo television are discussed, and a remotely controlled observation vehicle is briefly described.