Dictionary based Image Compression via Sparse Representation

Nowadays image compression has become a necessity due to a large volume of images. For efficient use of storage space and data transmission, it becomes essential to compress the image. In this paper, we propose a dictionary based image compression framework via sparse representation, with the construction of a trained over-complete dictionary. The over-complete dictionary is trained using the intra-prediction residuals obtained from different images and is applied for sparse representation. In this method, the current image block is first predicted from its spatially neighboring blocks, and then the prediction residuals are encoded via sparse representation. Sparse approximation algorithm and the trained over-complete dictionary are applied for sparse representation of prediction residuals. The detail coefficients obtained from sparse representation are used for encoding. Experimental result shows that the proposed method yields both improved coding efficiency and image quality as compared to some state-of-the-art image compression methods

Image Compression Using Sparse Representations and the Iteration-Tuned and Aligned Dictionary

International audienceWe introduce a new image coder which uses the Iteration Tuned and Aligned Dictionary (ITAD) as a transform to code image blocks taken over a regular grid. We establish experimentally that the ITAD structure results in lower-complexity representations that enjoy greater sparsity when compared to other recent dictionary structures. We show that this superior sparsity can be exploited successfully for compressing images belonging to specific classes of images (e.g. facial images). We further propose a global rate-distortion criterion that distributes the code bits across the various image blocks. Our evaluation shows that the proposed ITAD codec can outperform JPEG2000 by more than 2 dB at 0:25 bpp and by 0:5 dB at 0:45 bpp, accordingly producing qualitatively better reconstructions

Image Compression Using Sparse Representations and the Iteration-Tuned and Aligned Dictionary

International audienceWe introduce a new image coder which uses the Iteration Tuned and Aligned Dictionary (ITAD) as a transform to code image blocks taken over a regular grid. We establish experimentally that the ITAD structure results in lower-complexity representations that enjoy greater sparsity when compared to other recent dictionary structures. We show that this superior sparsity can be exploited successfully for compressing images belonging to specific classes of images (e.g. facial images). We further propose a global rate-distortion criterion that distributes the code bits across the various image blocks. Our evaluation shows that the proposed ITAD codec can outperform JPEG2000 by more than 2 dB at 0:25 bpp and by 0:5 dB at 0:45 bpp, accordingly producing qualitatively better reconstructions

Detection and classification of non-stationary signals using sparse representations in adaptive dictionaries

Automatic classification of non-stationary radio frequency (RF) signals is of particular interest in persistent surveillance and remote sensing applications. Such signals are often acquired in noisy, cluttered environments, and may be characterized by complex or unknown analytical models, making feature extraction and classification difficult. This thesis proposes an adaptive classification approach for poorly characterized targets and backgrounds based on sparse representations in non-analytical dictionaries learned from data. Conventional analytical orthogonal dictionaries, e.g., Short Time Fourier and Wavelet Transforms, can be suboptimal for classification of non-stationary signals, as they provide a rigid tiling of the time-frequency space, and are not specifically designed for a particular signal class. They generally do not lead to sparse decompositions (i.e., with very few non-zero coefficients), and use in classification requires separate feature selection algorithms. Pursuit-type decompositions in analytical overcomplete (non-orthogonal) dictionaries yield sparse representations, by design, and work well for signals that are similar to the dictionary elements. The pursuit search, however, has a high computational cost, and the method can perform poorly in the presence of realistic noise and clutter. One such overcomplete analytical dictionary method is also analyzed in this thesis for comparative purposes. The main thrust of the thesis is learning discriminative RF dictionaries directly from data, without relying on analytical constraints or additional knowledge about the signal characteristics. A pursuit search is used over the learned dictionaries to generate sparse classification features in order to identify time windows that contain a target pulse. Two state-of-the-art dictionary learning methods are compared, the K-SVD algorithm and Hebbian learning, in terms of their classification performance as a function of dictionary training parameters. Additionally, a novel hybrid dictionary algorithm is introduced, demonstrating better performance and higher robustness to noise. The issue of dictionary dimensionality is explored and this thesis demonstrates that undercomplete learned dictionaries are suitable for non-stationary RF classification. Results on simulated data sets with varying background clutter and noise levels are presented. Lastly, unsupervised classification with undercomplete learned dictionaries is also demonstrated in satellite imagery analysis

Learning to compress and search visual data in large-scale systems

The problem of high-dimensional and large-scale representation of visual data is addressed from an unsupervised learning perspective. The emphasis is put on discrete representations, where the description length can be measured in bits and hence the model capacity can be controlled. The algorithmic infrastructure is developed based on the synthesis and analysis prior models whose rate-distortion properties, as well as capacity vs. sample complexity trade-offs are carefully optimized. These models are then extended to multi-layers, namely the RRQ and the ML-STC frameworks, where the latter is further evolved as a powerful deep neural network architecture with fast and sample-efficient training and discrete representations. For the developed algorithms, three important applications are developed. First, the problem of large-scale similarity search in retrieval systems is addressed, where a double-stage solution is proposed leading to faster query times and shorter database storage. Second, the problem of learned image compression is targeted, where the proposed models can capture more redundancies from the training images than the conventional compression codecs. Finally, the proposed algorithms are used to solve ill-posed inverse problems. In particular, the problems of image denoising and compressive sensing are addressed with promising results.Comment: PhD thesis dissertatio