A methodology for the systematic assessment of underwater video processing algorithms

The use of video as an underwater sensor is wide spread in underwater communities. However, the automated processing and analysis of video data is only emerging. The underwater community can draw from an important legacy of video/optical image processing algorithms developed for other contexts, but little methodology on how to assess their suitability for underwater images currently exists. This paper suggests a methodology to quantitatively assess the robustness and behavior of algorithms in the face of underwater noises. It relies on the systematic simulation of underwater specific perturbations of images, with varying degrees of severity. The methodology enables to benchmark algorithms´ suitability for underwater conditions.