Abstract Polarization imaging is a promising technology with great potential. Besides light intensity, it provides information in another dimension, polarization. When imaging through water, two frames of the target at two orthogonally polarized states, Imax and Imin, are needed. In most experiments, they are determined by searching for the darkest and brightest moments during polarizer rotation. But in cases where no noticeable difference can be observed, the final detection may fail. To cope with this problem, this study exploits optical correlation to assist to determine the optimal image pair. It provides reference information by comparing the similarity between two images and quantify it with parameter PCE (Peak-to-correlation energy). Final determination is based upon the fact that the optimal image pair should be in the least similarity. Experiments demonstrate that the location of optimal images can be accurately indicated through the method. Final recovery with the selected images presents the best contrast and image quality. The established strategy will enhance performance of underwater polarization imaging with better vision, higher resolution and accuracy.

中文翻译：

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光学相关有助于增强水下偏振成像性能

摘要 偏振成像是一项很有发展潜力的技术。除了光强之外，它还提供另一个维度的信息，即偏振。在水中成像时，需要两个正交偏振态 Imax 和 Imin 的目标帧。在大多数实验中，它们是通过搜索偏光片旋转过程中最暗和最亮的时刻来确定的。但在无法观察到明显差异的情况下，最终检测可能会失败。为了解决这个问题，本研究利用光学相关性来帮助确定最佳图像对。它通过比较两幅图像之间的相似性来提供参考信息，并用参数 PCE（峰值相关能量）对其进行量化。最终确定基于最佳图像对应该具有最小相似性的事实。实验表明，该方法可以准确地指示出最佳图像的位置。所选图像的最终恢复呈现最佳对比度和图像质量。既定的策略将以更好的视觉、更高的分辨率和精度提高水下偏振成像的性能。