Underwater Image Enhancement Using Bi- Histogram Equalization with Fuzzy Plateau Limit

The images captured in hazy underwater conditions suffer from having poor contrast and low visibility. Hence there is a need for the enhancement of imaging data from underwater exploration and inspection activity so that it can be analysed to extract the desired information. Also, the image enhancement technique must be computationally efficient for it to be used in real time environment. In this paper a novel contrast enhancement technique is proposed called ‘Bi- Histogram Equalization with Fuzzy Plateau Limit’ (BHEFPL) which is an extension to bi-histogram equalization with clipping to be used for underwater image enhancement. The proposed method employs the use of fuzzy logic so as to perform optimal enhancement with respect to image performance metrics which also results in improved visual quality. The proposed technique trumps other contrast enhancement methods in terms of objective and subjective analysis.