3,068 research outputs found
Steered mixture-of-experts for light field images and video : representation and coding
Research in light field (LF) processing has heavily increased over the last decade. This is largely driven by the desire to achieve the same level of immersion and navigational freedom for camera-captured scenes as it is currently available for CGI content. Standardization organizations such as MPEG and JPEG continue to follow conventional coding paradigms in which viewpoints are discretely represented on 2-D regular grids. These grids are then further decorrelated through hybrid DPCM/transform techniques. However, these 2-D regular grids are less suited for high-dimensional data, such as LFs. We propose a novel coding framework for higher-dimensional image modalities, called Steered Mixture-of-Experts (SMoE). Coherent areas in the higher-dimensional space are represented by single higher-dimensional entities, called kernels. These kernels hold spatially localized information about light rays at any angle arriving at a certain region. The global model consists thus of a set of kernels which define a continuous approximation of the underlying plenoptic function. We introduce the theory of SMoE and illustrate its application for 2-D images, 4-D LF images, and 5-D LF video. We also propose an efficient coding strategy to convert the model parameters into a bitstream. Even without provisions for high-frequency information, the proposed method performs comparable to the state of the art for low-to-mid range bitrates with respect to subjective visual quality of 4-D LF images. In case of 5-D LF video, we observe superior decorrelation and coding performance with coding gains of a factor of 4x in bitrate for the same quality. At least equally important is the fact that our method inherently has desired functionality for LF rendering which is lacking in other state-of-the-art techniques: (1) full zero-delay random access, (2) light-weight pixel-parallel view reconstruction, and (3) intrinsic view interpolation and super-resolution
Alternating Back-Propagation for Generator Network
This paper proposes an alternating back-propagation algorithm for learning
the generator network model. The model is a non-linear generalization of factor
analysis. In this model, the mapping from the continuous latent factors to the
observed signal is parametrized by a convolutional neural network. The
alternating back-propagation algorithm iterates the following two steps: (1)
Inferential back-propagation, which infers the latent factors by Langevin
dynamics or gradient descent. (2) Learning back-propagation, which updates the
parameters given the inferred latent factors by gradient descent. The gradient
computations in both steps are powered by back-propagation, and they share most
of their code in common. We show that the alternating back-propagation
algorithm can learn realistic generator models of natural images, video
sequences, and sounds. Moreover, it can also be used to learn from incomplete
or indirect training data
Rate-Distortion Analysis of Multiview Coding in a DIBR Framework
Depth image based rendering techniques for multiview applications have been
recently introduced for efficient view generation at arbitrary camera
positions. Encoding rate control has thus to consider both texture and depth
data. Due to different structures of depth and texture images and their
different roles on the rendered views, distributing the available bit budget
between them however requires a careful analysis. Information loss due to
texture coding affects the value of pixels in synthesized views while errors in
depth information lead to shift in objects or unexpected patterns at their
boundaries. In this paper, we address the problem of efficient bit allocation
between textures and depth data of multiview video sequences. We adopt a
rate-distortion framework based on a simplified model of depth and texture
images. Our model preserves the main features of depth and texture images.
Unlike most recent solutions, our method permits to avoid rendering at encoding
time for distortion estimation so that the encoding complexity is not
augmented. In addition to this, our model is independent of the underlying
inpainting method that is used at decoder. Experiments confirm our theoretical
results and the efficiency of our rate allocation strategy
Learning sparse representations of depth
This paper introduces a new method for learning and inferring sparse
representations of depth (disparity) maps. The proposed algorithm relaxes the
usual assumption of the stationary noise model in sparse coding. This enables
learning from data corrupted with spatially varying noise or uncertainty,
typically obtained by laser range scanners or structured light depth cameras.
Sparse representations are learned from the Middlebury database disparity maps
and then exploited in a two-layer graphical model for inferring depth from
stereo, by including a sparsity prior on the learned features. Since they
capture higher-order dependencies in the depth structure, these priors can
complement smoothness priors commonly used in depth inference based on Markov
Random Field (MRF) models. Inference on the proposed graph is achieved using an
alternating iterative optimization technique, where the first layer is solved
using an existing MRF-based stereo matching algorithm, then held fixed as the
second layer is solved using the proposed non-stationary sparse coding
algorithm. This leads to a general method for improving solutions of state of
the art MRF-based depth estimation algorithms. Our experimental results first
show that depth inference using learned representations leads to state of the
art denoising of depth maps obtained from laser range scanners and a time of
flight camera. Furthermore, we show that adding sparse priors improves the
results of two depth estimation methods: the classical graph cut algorithm by
Boykov et al. and the more recent algorithm of Woodford et al.Comment: 12 page
Depth map compression via 3D region-based representation
In 3D video, view synthesis is used to create new virtual views between
encoded camera views. Errors in the coding of the depth maps introduce
geometry inconsistencies in synthesized views. In this paper, a new 3D plane
representation of the scene is presented which improves the performance of
current standard video codecs in the view synthesis domain. Two image segmentation
algorithms are proposed for generating a color and depth segmentation.
Using both partitions, depth maps are segmented into regions without
sharp discontinuities without having to explicitly signal all depth edges. The
resulting regions are represented using a planar model in the 3D world scene.
This 3D representation allows an efficient encoding while preserving the 3D
characteristics of the scene. The 3D planes open up the possibility to code
multiview images with a unique representation.Postprint (author's final draft
Livrable D4.2 of the PERSEE project : Représentation et codage 3D - Rapport intermédiaire - Définitions des softs et architecture
51Livrable D4.2 du projet ANR PERSEECe rapport a été réalisé dans le cadre du projet ANR PERSEE (n° ANR-09-BLAN-0170). Exactement il correspond au livrable D4.2 du projet. Son titre : Représentation et codage 3D - Rapport intermédiaire - Définitions des softs et architectur
- …