Task-Driven Dictionary Learning

Modeling data with linear combinations of a few elements from a learned dictionary has been the focus of much recent research in machine learning, neuroscience and signal processing. For signals such as natural images that admit such sparse representations, it is now well established that these models are well suited to restoration tasks. In this context, learning the dictionary amounts to solving a large-scale matrix factorization problem, which can be done efficiently with classical optimization tools. The same approach has also been used for learning features from data for other purposes, e.g., image classification, but tuning the dictionary in a supervised way for these tasks has proven to be more difficult. In this paper, we present a general formulation for supervised dictionary learning adapted to a wide variety of tasks, and present an efficient algorithm for solving the corresponding optimization problem. Experiments on handwritten digit classification, digital art identification, nonlinear inverse image problems, and compressed sensing demonstrate that our approach is effective in large-scale settings, and is well suited to supervised and semi-supervised classification, as well as regression tasks for data that admit sparse representations.Comment: final draft post-refereein

Layer Decomposition Learning Based on Gaussian Convolution Model and Residual Deblurring for Inverse Halftoning

Layer decomposition to separate an input image into base and detail layers has been steadily used for image restoration. Existing residual networks based on an additive model require residual layers with a small output range for fast convergence and visual quality improvement. However, in inverse halftoning, homogenous dot patterns hinder a small output range from the residual layers. Therefore, a new layer decomposition network based on the Gaussian convolution model (GCM) and structure-aware deblurring strategy is presented to achieve residual learning for both the base and detail layers. For the base layer, a new GCM-based residual subnetwork is presented. The GCM utilizes a statistical distribution, in which the image difference between a blurred continuous-tone image and a blurred halftoned image with a Gaussian filter can result in a narrow output range. Subsequently, the GCM-based residual subnetwork uses a Gaussian-filtered halftoned image as input and outputs the image difference as residual, thereby generating the base layer, i.e., the Gaussian-blurred continuous-tone image. For the detail layer, a new structure-aware residual deblurring subnetwork (SARDS) is presented. To remove the Gaussian blurring of the base layer, the SARDS uses the predicted base layer as input and outputs the deblurred version. To more effectively restore image structures such as lines and texts, a new image structure map predictor is incorporated into the deblurring network to induce structure-adaptive learning. This paper provides a method to realize the residual learning of both the base and detail layers based on the GCM and SARDS. In addition, it is verified that the proposed method surpasses state-of-the-art methods based on U-Net, direct deblurring networks, and progressively residual networks

Bayesian Dictionary Learning for Single and Coupled Feature Spaces

Over-complete bases offer the flexibility to represent much wider range of signals with more elementary basis atoms than signal dimension. The use of over-complete dictionaries for sparse representation has been a new trend recently and has increasingly become recognized as providing high performance for applications such as denoise, image super-resolution, inpaiting, compression, blind source separation and linear unmixing. This dissertation studies the dictionary learning for single or coupled feature spaces and its application in image restoration tasks. A Bayesian strategy using a beta process prior is applied to solve both problems. Firstly, we illustrate how to generalize the existing beta process dictionary learning method (BP) to learn dictionary for single feature space. The advantage of this approach is that the number of dictionary atoms and their relative importance may be inferred non-parametrically. Next, we propose a new beta process joint dictionary learning method (BP-JDL) for coupled feature spaces, where the learned dictionaries also reflect the relationship between the two spaces. Compared to previous couple feature spaces dictionary learning algorithms, our algorithm not only provides dictionaries that customized to each feature space, but also adds more consistent and accurate mapping between the two feature spaces. This is due to the unique property of the beta process model that the sparse representation can be decomposed to values and dictionary atom indicators. The proposed algorithm is able to learn sparse representations that correspond to the same dictionary atoms with the same sparsity but different values in coupled feature spaces, thus bringing consistent and accurate mapping between coupled feature spaces. Two applications, single image super-resolution and inverse halftoning, are chosen to evaluate the performance of the proposed Bayesian approach. In both cases, the Bayesian approach, either for single feature space or coupled feature spaces, outperforms state-of-the-art methods in comparative domains

A dual watermarking scheme for identity protection

A novel dual watermarking scheme with potential applications in identity protection, media integrity maintenance and copyright protection in both electronic and printed media is presented. The proposed watermarking scheme uses the owner’s signature and fingerprint as watermarks through which the ownership and validity of the media can be proven and kept intact. To begin with, the proposed watermarking scheme is implemented on continuous-tone/greyscale images, and later extended to images achieved via multitoning, an advanced version of halftoning-based printing. The proposed watermark embedding is robust and imperceptible. Experimental simulations and evaluations of the proposed method show excellent results from both objective and subjective view-points

Um framework para processamento paralelo de algoritmos de aumento de resolução de vídeos

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2013.O aumento dimensional de sinais visuais consiste na alteração do tamanho de uma imagem ou de um vídeo para dimensões espaciais maiores, utilizando técnicas de processa- mento digital de sinais. Geralmente, esse aumento é feito com a utilização de técnicas de interpolação. Contudo, essas técnicas de interpolação produzem distorções nas imagens au- mentadas. Tais distorções ocorrem porque a imagem aumentada possui apenas as amostras da imagem original, de dimensões menores, que são insu cientes para reconstrução exata do sinal, o que gera efeitos de aliasing. Assim sendo, as técnicas de interpolação apenas estimam os coe cientes não-amostrados do sinal, o que muitas vezes produz resultados insatisfatórios para muitas aplicações, necessitando de outras técnicas para reconstituir os coe cientes não-amostrados com maior precisão. Para melhorar a aproximação de uma imagem estimada com relação à imagem origi- nal, existem técnicas que reconstroem os coe cientes não-amostrados. Essas técnicas são chamadas de super-resolução. Elas consistem em aumentar a resolução utilizando, geral- mente, informações de outras imagens em baixa ou alta-resolução para estimar a informação faltante na imagem que se deseja ampliar. Super-resolução é um processo computacionalmente intenso, onde a complexidade dos algoritmos são, geralmente, de ordem exponencial no tempo em função do bloco ou do fa- tor de ampliação. Portanto, quando essas técnicas são aplicadas para vídeos, é necessário que o algoritmo seja extremamente rápido. O problema é que os algoritmos mais com- putacionalmente e cientes, nem sempre são aqueles que produzem os melhores resultados visuais. Sendo assim, este trabalho propõe um framework para melhorar o desempenho de diversos algoritmos de super-resolução através de estratégias de processamento seletivo e paralelo. Para isso, nesta dissertação são examinadas as propriedades dos resultados produzidos pelos algoritmos de super-resolução e os resultados produzidos utilizando-se técnicas de interpolação. Com essas propriedades, é encontrado um critério para classi car as regiões em que os resultados produzidos sejam visualmente equivalentes, não importando o método utilizado para ampliação. Nessas regiões de equivalência utiliza-se um algoritmo de interpolação, que é muito mais veloz do que os computacionalmente complexos de super-resolução. Assim, consegue-se reduzir o tempo de processamento sem prejudicar a qualidade visual do vídeo ampliado. Além dessa abordagem, este trabalho também propõe uma estratégia de divisão de dados entre diferentes tarefas para que a operação de aumento de resolução seja realizada de forma paralela. Um resultado interessante do modelo proposto é que ele desacopla a abstração de distribuição de carga da função de aumento dimensional. Em outras palavras, diferentes métodos de super-resolução podem explorar os recursos do framework sem que para isso seus algoritmos precisem ser modi cados para obtenção do paralelismo. Isso torna o framework portável, escalável e reusável por diferentes métodos de super-resolução. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe magni cation of visual signals consists of changing the size of an image or a video to larger spatial dimensions, using digital signal processing techniques. Usually, this mag- ni cation is done using numerical interpolation methods. However, these interpolation methods tend to produce some distortions in the increased images. Such distortions oc- cours because the interpolated image is reconstructed using only the original image samples, which are insu cients for the accurate signal reconstruction, generating aliasing e ects. These interpolation techniques only approximate the non-sampled signal coe cients, pro- ducing unsatisfactory results for many applications. Thus, for these applications, others techniques to estimate the non-sampled coe cients are needed. To improve the estimation accuracy of an image with respect to the original, the super- resolution techniques are used to reconstruct the non-sampled coe cients. Generally, these super-resolution techniques enhance the increased image using information of other images to estimate the missing information. Super-resolution is a computationally intensive process, where the algorithms com- plexity are, generally, exponential in time as function of the block size or magni cation factor. Therefore, when these techniques are applied for videos, it is required that the super-resolution algorithm be extremely fast. However, more computationally e cient algorithms are not always those that produce the best visual results. Therefore, this work proposes a framework to improve the performance of various super- resolution algorithms using selective processing and parallel processing strategies. Thus, this dissertation examines the properties of the results produced by the super-resolution algorithms and the results produced by using interpolation techniques. From these proper- ties, is achieved a criterion to classify regions wherein the results produced are equivalent (using both super-resolution or interpolation). In these regions of equivalence, the in- terpolation algorithms are used to increase the dimensions. In the anothers regions, the super-resolution algorithms are used. As interpolation algorithms are faster than the com- putationally complex super-resolution algorithms, the idea is decrease the processing time without a ecting the visual quality of ampli ed video. Besides this approach, this paper also proposes a strategy to divide the data among various processes to perform the super-resolution operation in parallel. An interesting re- sult of the proposed model is the decoupling of the super-resolution algorithm and the parallel processing strategy. In other words, di erent super-resolution algorithms can ex- plore the features of the proposed framework without algorithmic modi cations to achieve the parallelism. Thus, the framework is portable, scalable and can be reusable by di erent super-resolution methods