New feature on IVM Supervisor: image enhancement to support vision-based navigation

Challenges of vision-based inspection

Underwater vision-based inspections operate in a highly visually hostile environment. Compared to air, the barriers to effective imaging are significantly higher. Light behaves very differently underwater: it is rapidly absorbed and scattered, leading to low contrast, color distortion and a strong dominance of blue-green wavelengths as depth increases. In addition, turbidity, caused by suspended particles, further degrades visibility by introducing backscatter, often perceived as a “snow” effect in the image. As a result, lighting becomes a critical parameter. Achieving uniform and sufficiently powerful illumination is essential, yet difficult, as it must minimize hotspots, and visual noise.

At IVM Technologies, our photogrammetry systems are designed with integrated light management tailored to these constraints, ensuring optimized illumination for consistent and usable image acquisition. Our systems are designed both for visual inspection and image acquisition used in 3D reconstruction, as well as for providing a visual navigation aid for operators.

Real-time image enhancement for subsea navigation

Traditionally, during visual inspections, operators rely on ROV cameras for navigation and are therefore directly dependent on visibility conditions and limited by camera performance. Since our systems are vision-based and include IVM Supervisor, a dedicated software for system control and visualization, we provide operators with an additional navigation support layer. With a real-time video stream, the experience is designed to remain smooth.

To further enhance this experience, we have developed image enhancement features that enable easier vision-based navigation, particularly in degraded visibility conditions. Directly integrated into IVM Supervisor, these features act as a complementary toolset designed to improve scene readability and facilitate navigation. It allows operators to select the most appropriate correction depending on underwater visibility conditions. Below are the different corrections available in IVM Supervisor.

With a dedicated image settings control panel, users can finely adjust each correction according to the specific environmental conditions of the inspection. This flexibility ensures that the system can be optimally tuned to a wide range of underwater scenarios, while maintaining consistent usability and interpretability of the image feed.

From underwater navigation aid to autonomous underwater inspection

This image enhancement capability represents a first step toward more advanced vision-driven operations. By continuously improving the reliability and readability of visual feedback in challenging environments, it lays the groundwork for increasingly autonomous navigation based on visual data.