ISRAEL: RESEARCHERS HAVE INVENTED A GROUNDBREAKING METHOD TO CLEAR UNDERWATER PHOTOS

Record ID: 397924

  • Title: ISRAEL: RESEARCHERS HAVE INVENTED A GROUNDBREAKING METHOD TO CLEAR UNDERWATER PHOTOS
  • Date: 9th May 2004
  • Summary: CU: UNDERWATER PHOTOS/GRAPHIC (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 24th May 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: HAIFA, ISRAEL
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA2UMRBA061BOF3ALW0E6R476LL
  • Story Text: Israeli researchers invent groundbreaking method to clear underwater photos Amateur divers and experts in computer vision couldn't ignore the blurry images of their underwater photographs so they applied their knowledge in physics to create a groundbreaking method that could ease the jobs of many.
    "We wanted to use our knowledge in electrical engineering to improve images taken underwater," said Nir Karpel, a research assistant at Haifa's Technion University.
    Doctor Yuval Shechner and Karpel developed a method using carefully constructed mathematical algorithms. The system is digitally applied on two photographs taken underwater with a filter polarised at different angles.
    It was in the university's faculty of electrical engineering where Shechner and Karpel developed the breakthrough algorithm. The method was developed over 18 months and experiments 26 metres underwater have shown successful results.
    "The algorithm that we developed is actually based on the physical mechanisms that degrade the visibility underwater," Shechner explains. "It actually takes the physical considerations and takes them into the calculations when the images are analysed and because of that we are able to undo the mechanisms that degrade visibility and compensate for them."
    The research has aroused interest from professional and amateur photographers. But the method could assist other sectors using underwater images, such as offshore engineers, marine biologists and archaeologists partly because it allows for the estimation of distances which enables photographers to take pictures from far away without disturbing underwater wildlife.
    The pair's research titled "Clear Underwater Vision"
    will be presented at a conference on computer vision and pattern recognition in Washington DC in July, 2004.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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