Colour Correction and Detail Enhancement in Underwater Images using Hybrid Real-ESRGAN

The motive of underwater image enhancement is to improve and enhance the quality of photographs taken underwater. Various traditonal image processing techniques and deep learning models have been developed to work on this task. But most often the deep learning models and conventional methods of image processing work in silos, leading to subpar results. This research proposes a strategy that utilizes a combination of both approaches to solve this issue. Initially, traditional image processing techniques like colour correction and image stretching are used to enhance the colour of the images. The enhanced images are then fed into a custom Real-ESRGAN model that has been fine-tuned on an underwater image dataset to optimize performance in this context. This hybrid approach has the potential to outperform the models utilizing either traditional or deep learning methods in isolation by leveraging the strengths of both. In addition, batch processing is used in the pipeline to efficiently handle multiple images at the same time. This effectively addresses the scalability problem that arises frequently in image enhancement tasks. With eye-catching visuals, the proposed methodology achieves a Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) of 23.66 and a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.28, suggesting excellent image restoration and noise reduction. The qualitative assessments show that the improved image graphs have better colour, contrast, and clarity than the originals.