  Low visual quality has prevented underwater robotic vision from a wide range
of applications. Although several algorithms have been developed, real-time and
adaptive methods are deficient for real-world tasks. In this paper, we address
this difficulty based on generative adversarial networks (GAN), and propose a
GAN-based restoration scheme (GAN-RS). In particular, we develop a multi-branch
discriminator including an adversarial branch and a critic branch for the
purpose of simultaneously preserving image content and removing underwater
noise. In addition to adversarial learning, a novel dark channel prior loss
also promotes the generator to produce realistic vision. More specifically, an
underwater index is investigated to describe underwater properties, and a loss
function based on the underwater index is designed to train the critic branch
for underwater noise suppression. Through extensive comparisons on visual
quality and feature restoration, we confirm the superiority of the proposed
approach. Consequently, the GAN-RS can adaptively improve underwater visual
quality in real time and induce an overall superior restoration performance.
Finally, a real-world experiment is conducted on the seabed for grasping marine
products, and the results are quite promising. The source code is publicly
available at https://github.com/SeanChenxy/GAN_RS.
