An Underwater Image Enhancement Method Based on Diffusion Model Using Dual-Layer Attention Mechanism

Abstract

Diffusion models have been increasingly utilized in various image-processing tasks, such as segmentation, denoising, and enhancement. These models also show exceptional performance in enhancing underwater images. However, conventional models for underwater image enhancement often face the challenge of simultaneously improving color restoration and super-resolution. This paper introduces a dual-layer attention mechanism that integrates spatial and channel attention to enhance color restoration, while preserving critical image features. Additionally, specific scale factors and interpolation methods are employed during the upsampling process to increase resolution. The proposed DL-UW method achieves significant enhancements in color, illumination, and resolution for low-quality underwater images, resulting in high PSNR, SSIM, and UIQM values. The model demonstrates a robust performance on different datasets, confirming its broad applicability and effectiveness.