# Dynamic Dark Channel Prior Dehazing with Polarization
###### Abstract  
For traditional dark channel prior (DCP) imaging through haze environments, intensity information acts as the carrier to acquire the reflective character of the dehazed target image. We introduce polarization as auxiliary information into the traditional DCP dehazed process for achieving better imaging performance that can improve target detection or target tracking. In this paper, a polarization imaging system with a split-amplitude structure is designed to enable real-time polarization acquisition of transient scenes. The experimental results show that besides descattering, the proposed method can also simultaneously obtain both light intensity and polarization information from the target. Compared with the traditional DCP method, which only utilizes intensity information as a carrier, a combination of intensity and polarization in the proposed method can effectively detect the target hidden in the background with similar reflectivity. Our investigation has potential application value for optical imaging in scattering environments. dark channel prior; polarization; target detection +
Footnote †: journal: Applied  
0000-0002-4800-3330][PERSON] 0000-0002-0002-3300][PERSON] 0000-0002-0002-3330][PERSON] 0000-0002-0002-3330-3300][PERSON] 0000-0002-3330-3300-3300-3300-3300-3300-3300-33000-33000-33000-33000  
been proven to be an effective method to improve the quality of blurred images [9; 10; 11; 12]. As an important property of light [13], polarization presents unique advantages in the fields of target detection [14], image enhancement under harsh conditions [15], and navigation [16]. Compared with conventional images acquired based on the reflected intensity information, polarization can characterize the vector nature of light waves related to objects in the scene, which provides additional information to improve detection performance. This paper mainly studies the dark channel prior dehazing method, which has a simple and easy theoretical process and is still a hot topic in the field of dehazing. This paper proposes to introduce polarization information into the traditional dark channel prior to dehazing to enhance discrimination between different objects by taking advantage of the sensitivity of polarization to physical properties. At present, similar methods are discussed in published articles. [PERSON] et al. [17] studied the theory of de-scattering and polarization detection in the dark channel prior to the dehazing method and built a mechanical polarization filtering imaging device. He experimentally verified the target characterization function of the proposed method in a foggy environment. The experimental results showed that while the target contrast was enhanced, the image noise also became more obvious, and the polarization degree image had color distortion. [PERSON] et al. [18] also called it the polarization dark channel prior (PDCP) method. The author mainly applies this method to the enhancement of marine targets. However, the imaging system in this paper has insufficient stability, and if the imaging system has errors or drifts, it will affect the extraction of polarization information and the dehazing effect. In addition, the experimental scene in this paper has strong reflections and highlights, which may interfere with the polarization information. [PERSON] et al. [19] addressed the inaccuracy of the atmospheric light estimation in relation to the dark channel prior theory. They proposed the dark channel quartering to estimate the atmospheric light intensity. This method allows them to simultaneously recover fog-free, high-quality polarization images and scene depth maps from dual images. However, this method is computationally expensive and slow. Moreover, most of the existing dehazing methods based on polarization and dark channel prior are only suitable for static scenes and may not be applicable to dynamic scenes, lacking practical significance.