Oceanographer Derya Akkaynak: Seeing Underwater

Capturing the true beauty of the world underwater is no easy feat. Often compromised by dull and monotonic colors, underwater photography requires additional tools to bring clarity to the images. Turkish oceanographer and engineer Derya Akkaynak talks to Numarine Insight about sea-thru, an algorithm that aims to uncover the beauty of the seas and help us better understand marine life and its utmost importance for our world.

This article was featured in the yachting magazine Numarine Insight.

Oceanography is actually an area that is related to everything about human beings. Can you briefly tell us its scope?

DERYA AKKAYNAK: Oceanography is a branch of science that involves studying everything and anything about oceans and seas. This discipline includes biological oceanography, chemical and physical oceanography, ocean engineering, archaeology, geological examination of oceans and more. Since the oceans cover 70% of our planet, studying the ocean is essentially studying our planet.

You are currently working at the Department of Marine Technologies at Haifa University. Can you tell us about your work here?

DA: A short while ago, I started working in the Department of Marine Technologies at Haifa University in Israel as an Assistant Professor and I am currently busy establishing my laboratory in the city of Eilat on the Red Sea. I specialize in underwater vision and imaging. I study the eyes, the eyesight, and the evolutionary adaptations of animals living in aquatic environments, and inspired by these systems, I develop hardware and software for better underwater imaging. My work combines ecology, physics, and engineering.

Under the oceans lies a whole different universe. How does it feel to investigate the workings of life under water?

DA: Everything about the sea sparks an endless curiosity in me, excites me and makes me happy. That is why I studied oceanography, which is one of the professions called a “lifestyle job,” as a profession, even though I received training in aerospace and mechanical engineering. The campus where I have my lab is located on the Red Sea. I leave the house at sunrise, ride my bike to work, and jump into the sea when I get to the campus. I start my day swimming on a coral reef before I even sit at my desk — can the day get bad after such a start? Working with the ocean allows me to establish an intimate connection to our planet. Being able to follow the seasons, the wind, the sun, watching how life in the sea responds to daily, annual, seasonal changes, and thinking about it makes me feel like I truly belong to this planet.

What about Sea-thru? You have been honored with the “Blavatnik Young Scientist” award for this algorithm.

DA: The Sea-thru algorithm removes the effects of water from photographs taken underwater following the physical rules that describe the propagation of light in water. Thus, we can see life underwater with the clarity of the photos taken on land. It is not the first algorithm to do this, but it is by far the most successful one, because we have updated this physics phenomenon, the physical model of light traveling underwater, reaching a sensor and forming an image. Before this, researchers were unintentionally using a model that defined image formation in the atmosphere to correct underwater images, so no algorithm had been as successful.

The primary driving force for most new inventions is a need. One can only imagine that the algorithm you developed was also established after the difficulties you encountered during your studies. At this point, what effect did the algorithm you developed have on underwater studies?

DA: We are currently trying to make the sea-thru software available both academically and commercially. So, since it is not yet accessible, other researchers have not yet been able to use it at full capacity. It is not easy for software developed for academic purposes and working under certain assumptions to transition an application that everyone can use under any circumstances. The software requires considerable investment; it takes a lot of time to find what is needed. I’m learning that now by experience. When a wider audience can use it, whether to accelerate our research by using artificial intelligence more efficiently or discover new things, I have no doubt that it will make a tremendous difference.

“Everything about the sea sparks an endless curiosity in me, excites me and makes me happy… Working on the world underwater allows me to establish an intimate connection to our planet.”

About Derya Akkaynak

Derya Akkaynak is an oceanographer and engineer, currently focusing on imaging problems on land and under water, as well as investigating the possibility of creating biomimetic cameras to allow humans to see underwater like marine species.

About Sea-thru

Sea-thru is a pioneering technology that changes our perception of underwater photography. It is an algorithm that allows clear underwater photos to be captured by removing the water from the images without needing a color chart.

Interested in learning more about Numarine Yachts? Contact Alex G. Clarke, who is ready to answer any questions and start your journey to owning a new yacht.

Speak With a Superyacht Specialist: