Adaptive edge-based side-match finite-state classified vectorquantization with quadtree map

Vector quantization (VQ) is an effective image coding technique at low bit rate. The side-match finite-state vector quantizer (SMVQ) exploits the correlations between neighboring blocks (vectors) to avoid large gray level transition across block boundaries. A new adaptive edge-based side-match finite-state classified vector quantizer (classified FSVQ) with a quadtree map has been proposed. In classified FSVQ, blocks are arranged into two main classes, edge blocks and nonedge blocks, to avoid selecting a wrong state codebook for an input block. In order to improve the image quality, edge vectors are reclassified into 16 classes. Each class uses a master codebook that is different from the codebooks of other classes. In our experiments, results are given and comparisons are made between the new scheme and ordinary SMVQ and VQ coding techniques. As is shown, the improvement over ordinary SMVQ is up to 1.16 dB at nearly the same bit rate, moreover, the improvement over ordinary VQ can be up to 2.08 dB at the same bit rate for the image, Lena. Further, block boundaries and edge degradation are less visible because of the edge-vector classification. Hence, the perceptual image quality of classified FSVQ is better than that of ordinary SMVQ.     

Smooth side-match weighted vector quantiser with variable block size for image coding

Although side-match vector quantisation (SMVQ) reduces the bit rate, the quality of image coding using SMVQ generally degenerates as the grey level transition across the boundaries of neighbouring blocks increases or decreases. The author proposes a smooth side-match weighted method to yield a state codebook according to the smoothness of the grey levels between neighbouring blocks. When a block is encoded, a corresponding weight is assigned to each neighbouring block to represent its relative importance. This smooth side-match weighted vector quantisation (SSMWVQ) achieves a higher PSNR than SMVQ at the same bit rate. Also, each block can be pre-encoded in an image, allowing each encoded block to use all neighbouring blocks to yield the state codebook in SSMWVQ, rather than using only two neighbouring blocks, as in SMVQ. Moreover, SSMWVQ selects many high-detail blocks as basic blocks to enhance the coding quality, and merges many low-detail blocks into a larger one to reduce further the bit rate. Experimental results reveal that SSMWVQ has a higher PSNR and lower bit rate than other methods.     

Subband coding of image sequences at low bit rates

In this paper a low bit rate subband coding scheme for image sequences is described. Typically, the scheme is based on temporal DPCM in combination with an intraframe subband coder. In contrast to previous work, however, the subbands are divided into blocks onto which conditional replenishment is applied, while a bit allocation algorithm divides the bits among the blocks assigned for replenishment. A solution is given for the ‘dirty window’ effect by setting blocks to zero that were assigned to be replenished but received no bits. The effect of motion compensation and the extension to color images are discussed as well. Finally, several image sequence coding results are given for a bit rate of 300 kbit/s.     

Isometry-Based Shape-Adaptive Fractal Coding for Images

Fractal image coding is an effective method to eliminate the image redundancy through piecewise self-transformability. The fractal code consists of a set of contractive affine transforms. To improve the performance when a range block experiences large error, we usually partition the range block into square or nonsquare subrange blocks for two- or multilevel fractal coding. In this paper, we find an inherent property of fractal coding that can be used to decide the edge orientation of a range block. Then this property is used for shape-adaptive fractal coding (SAFC). In SAFC, the top-level range block is partitioned into square or nonsquare (rectangle or triangle) subrange blocks for multilevel fractal encoding. Here, the maximum size of the range block can be the same as that of the whole image size while the minimum size is 4×4. In SAFC, no additional computations are required to obtain the edge orientation of a range block. Instead, we propose an edge-orientation detector, where the edge orientation of a range block is obtained during the fractal encoding process. According to our simulation results, SAFC can reduce the bit rate requirement of the conventional fractal coding scheme.     

一种改进的相关图像矢量量化编码算法

本文提出了一种改进的图像矢量量化编码算法。该算法通过采用增加预测块，以及根据相邻块状态进行控制信息的条件熵编码等改进方法，进一步提高了算法的编码效率，为了便于算法实现，本文对图像的边缘引进的一致的处理方法。测试结果表明，相对于无记忆适量量化编码算法，比特率约下降４０％，相对于文献［５］算法，比特率约下降１５％。     

Facsimile Coding by Skipping White

The white block skipping (WBS) method of coding binary facsimile images consists of breaking each scan line intoNpicture-element (pel) blocks, then using "0" as the code word for all-white blocks and "1" followed by the binary pattern in the block for non-all-white blocks. In the first part of this paper, we derive (based on a first-order Markov source model) the optimum block sizeNand its corresponding minimum bit rate as functions of the average white and black run lengths of the image. In the second part of this paper, we propose a modified coding scheme where all-white scan lines are essentially skipped. This modified scheme is found to be as efficient as run length coding for transmitting texts.     

Satellite image compression by concurrent representations of wavelet blocks

This paper proposes a complete compression and coding scheme for on-board satellite applications considering the main on-board constraints: low computational power and easy bit rate control. The proposed coding scheme improves the performance of the current Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) recommendation for a low additional complexity. We consider post-transforms in the wavelet domain, select the best representation for each block of wavelet coefficients, and encode it into an embedded bit stream. After applying a classical wavelet transform of the image, several concurrent representations of blocks of wavelet coefficients are generated. The best representations are then selected according to a rate-distortion criterion. Finally, a specific bit-plane encoder derived from the CCSDS recommendation produces an embedded bit stream ensuring the easy rate control required. In this article, both the post-transforms and the best representation selection have been adapted to the low complexity constraint, and the CCSDS coder has been modified to compress post-transformed representations.     

Improved decoder for transform coding with application to the JPEGbaseline system

Transform coding, a simple yet efficient image coding technique, has been adopted by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) as the basis for an emerging coding standard for compression of still images. However, for any given transform encoder, the conventional inverse transform decoder is suboptimal. Better performance can be obtained by a nonlinear interpolative decoder that performs table lookups to reconstruct the image blocks from the code indexes. Each received code index of an image block addresses a particular codebook to fetch a component vector. The image block can be reconstructed as the sum of the component vectors for that block. An iterative algorithm for designing a set of locally optimal codebooks is developed. Computer simulation results demonstrate that this improved decoding technique can be applied in the JPEG baseline system to decode enhanced quality pictures from the bit stream generated by the standard encoding scheme     

Novel image compression method using edge-oriented classifier andnovel predictive noiseless coding method

A new image compression approach is proposed in which variable block size technique is adopted, using quadtree decomposition, for coding images at low bit rates. In the proposed approach, low-activity regions, which usually occupy large areas in an image, were coded with a larger block size and the block mean is used to represent each pixel in the block. To preserve edge integrity, the classified vector quantisation (CVQ) technique is used to code high-activity regions. A new edge-oriented classifier without employing any thresholds is proposed for edge classification. A novel predictive noiseless coding (NPNC) method which exploits the redundancy between neighbouring blocks is also presented to efficiently code the mean values of low-activity blocks and the addresses of edge blocks. The bit rates required for coding the mean values and addresses can be significantly reduced by the proposed NPNC method. Experimental results show that excellent reconstructed images and higher PSNR were obtained     

Iteration-free fractal image coding based on efficient domain pooldesign

The domain pool design is one of the dominant issues which affect the coding performance of fractal image compression. In this paper, we employ the LBG algorithm and propose a block averaging method to design the efficient domain pools based on a proposed iteration-free fractal image codec. The redundancies between the generated domain blocks are reduced by the proposed methods. Therefore, we can obtain the domain pools that are more efficient than those in the conventional fractal coding schemes and thus the coding performance is improved. On the other hand, the iteration process in the conventional fractal coding scheme not only requires a large size of memory and a high computation complexity but also prolongs the decoding process. The proposed iteration-free fractal codec can overcome the problems above. In computer simulation, both the LBG-based and block-averaging methods for the domain pool design in the proposed iteration free scheme achieve excellent performances. For example, based on the proposed block-averaging method, the decoded Lena image has at least a 0.5 dB higher PSNR (under the same bit rate) and an eight-time faster decoding speed than the conventional fractal coding schemes that require iterations.     

Unified variable-length transform coding and image-adaptive vectorquantization

The authors introduce an image coding method which unifies two image coding techniques: variable-length transform coding (VLTC) and image-adaptive vector quantization (IAVQ). In both VLTC and IAVQ, the image is first decomposed into a set of blocks. VLTC encodes each block in the transform domain very efficiently: however, it ignores the interblock correlation completely. IAVQ addresses the interblock correlation by using a codebook generated from a subset of the blocks to vector-quantize all blocks. Although the resulting codebook represents the input image better than a universal codebook generated from a large number of training images, it has to be transmitted separately as an overhead, therefore degrading the coding performance at high bit rates     

Progressive Image Transmission Using LOT with Two-Channel Conjugate VQ

A progressive image transmission (PIT) scheme based on the classified two-channel conjugate VQ (TCCVQ) technique in the lapped orthogonal transform (LOT) domain is proposed. Conventional block transform coding of images using DCT produces in general undesirable block-artifacts at low bit rates. In this paper, image blocks are transformed using the LOT and classified into four classes based on their structural properties and further subdivided adaptively into subvectors depending on the LOT coefficient statistics to improve the reconstructed image quality by adaptive bit allocation. The subvectors are quantized using the two-channel conjugate VQ technique which has less computational complexity and less storage memory, and is more robust against channel errors. The vector quantized subvectors are transmitted and decoded in stages so that an image is progressively reconstructed, i.e., initially a crude version followed by quality build up in successive stages as the occasion demands in interactive visual communications. Coding tests using computer simulations show that the LOT/TCCVQ-based PIT of images is an effective coding scheme. The results are also compared with those obtained using conventional classified VQ in both the DCT and LOT domains.     

Fast turbo codes with space‐time block codes in fast fading channels

In this paper, space‐time block coding has been used in conjunction with Turbo codes to provide good diversity and coding gains. A new method of dividing turbo encoder and decoder into several parallel encoding and decoding blocks is considered. These blocks work simultaneously and yield a faster coding scheme in comparison to classical Turbo codes. The system concatenates fast Turbo coding as an outer code with Alamouti's G2 space‐time block coding scheme as an inner code, achieving benefits associated with both techniques including acceptable diversity and coding gain as well as short coding delay. In this paper, fast fading Rayleigh and Rician channels are considered for discussion. For Rayleigh fading channels, a fixed frame size and channel memory length of 5000 and 10, respectively, the coding gain is 7.5 dB and bit error rate (BER) of 10^?4 is achieved at 7 dB. For the same frame size and channel memory length, Rician fading channel yields the same BER at about 4.5 dB. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Smooth side-match classified vector quantizer with variable blocksize

Although the side-match vector quantizer (SMVQ) reduces the bit rate, the image coding quality by SMVQ generally degenerates as the gray level transition across the boundaries of the neighboring blocks is increasing or decreasing. This study presents a smooth side-match method to select a state codebook according to the smoothness of the gray levels between neighboring blocks. This method achieves a higher PSNR and better visual perception than SMVQ does for the same bit rate. Moreover, to design codebooks, a genetic clustering algorithm that automatically finds the appropriate number of clusters is proposed. The proposed smooth side-match classified vector quantizer (SSM-CVQ) is thus a combination of three techniques: the classified vector quantization, the variable block size segmentation and the smooth side-match method. Experimental results indicate that SSM-CVQ has a higher PSNR and a lower bit rate than other methods. Furthermore, the Lena image can be coded by SSM-CVQ with 0.172 bpp and 32.49 dB in PSNR.     

相关瑞利信道下差分空时检测协同分集方案

本文提出了一种采用分布式差分空时分组编码和检测的协同分集方案,在不需要信道状态信息(CSI)的情况下可以实现满分集和全速率发射,并推导了相关瑞利信道下该方案误码率(BER)性能上限的解析表达式。传统的差分空时分组编码对整个码块进行差分,而协同分集下的任何一个协同用户进行差分编码时都不知道整个码块的信息。本文所提出的差分BPSK调制方案,通过将两协同用户的信息分别被调制到相互正交的实轴和虚轴上,从而将码块的联合差分转化为各用户独立差分。分析了在协同用户间不同的信道状态信息(CSI)和协同用户到接收用户不同的CSI情况下本文所提出发射方案的性能。仿真结果表明本文所提出的方案获得了明显的分集增益,同时也较好的吻合了理论分析的结果。     

Image coding by block prediction of multiresolution subimages

The redundancy of the multiresolution representation has been clearly demonstrated in the case of fractal images, but it has not been fully recognized and exploited for general images. Fractal block coders have exploited the self-similarity among blocks in images. We devise an image coder in which the causal similarity among blocks of different subbands in a multiresolution decomposition of the image is exploited. In a pyramid subband decomposition, the image is decomposed into a set of subbands that are localized in scale, orientation, and space. The proposed coding scheme consists of predicting blocks in one subimage from blocks in lower resolution subbands with the same orientation. Although our prediction maps are of the same kind of those used in fractal block coders, which are based on an iterative mapping scheme, our coding technique does not impose any contractivity constraint on the block maps. This makes the decoding procedure very simple and allows a direct evaluation of the mean squared error (MSE) between the original and the reconstructed image at coding time. More importantly, we show that the subband pyramid acts as an automatic block classifier, thus making the block search simpler and the block matching more effective. These advantages are confirmed by the experimental results, which show that the performance of our scheme is superior for both visual quality and MSE to that obtainable with standard fractal block coders and also to that of other popular image coders such as JPEG.     

A fast quadtree motion segmentation for image sequence coding

A new fast quadtree-based variable size block matching scheme is devised for image sequence coding. The novelty of the method lies in the quadtree-based block matching with significantly less computations. In the proposed method, the computational requirements for matching are largely transferred from the evaluation of the mean absolute difference to the computations of the sum norms of the blocks which can be easily obtained. The fast quadtree decomposition scheme partitions an image frame into uniform motion blocks (larger blocks) and non-uniform motion blocks (small blocks). Standard VQ-based interframe coding is applied to uniform motion blocks while non-uniform blocks are intraframe coded. Implementation of this method shows a significantly lower computational requirement and a good-quality reconstruction of images at low bit-rates.     

Interpolative BTC image coding with vector quantization

The authors suggest two interpolative block truncation coding (BTC) image coding schemes with vector quantization and median filters as the interpolator. The first scheme is based on quincunx subsampling and the second one on every-other-row-and-every-other-column subsampling. It is shown that the schemes yield a significant reduction in bit rate at only a small performance degradation and, in general, better channel error resisting capabilities, as compared to the absolute moment BTC. The methods are further demonstrated to outperform the corresponding BTC schemes with pure vector quantization at the same bit rate and require minimal computations for the interpolation     

Polynomial approximation and vector quantization: a region-basedintegration

The paper presents an adaptive scheme for image-data compression. It is a region-based approach that suitably integrates two different approaches to image coding, vector quantization (VQ) and polynomial approximation (PA). The scheme is adaptive from the point of view of the human observer: the perceptually most significant areas are those near edges or details. In smoothed areas, PA can be used with notable results, but there VQ must be employed to ensure high fidelity. The two techniques exhibit a complementarity in both advantages and drawbacks. PA is not efficient in compressing high-frequency areas, but yields the best results when applied to highly correlated data. VQ is unable to reach high-compression ratios because of its low adaptability, but is quite suitable for compressing uncorrelated data. The means to achieve the integration of the two techniques is a control image containing information about edge and texture locations. In the paper, edge encoding and restoration are also addressed, which are closely related to the proposed hybrid scheme; block prediction is also utilized to further reduce the residual redundancy between VQ blocks. The exploitation of the best features of both approaches results in high compression factors, and in perceivable good quality. In particular, bit rates range from 0.15 to 0.07 bpp. Main applications of this compression scheme are in the areas of very-low bit rate image transmission and image archiving     

Concatenated block codes for unequal error protection of embedded bit streams

A state-of-the-art progressive source encoder is combined with a concatenated block coding mechanism to produce a robust source transmission system for embedded bit streams. The proposed scheme efficiently trades off the available total bit budget between information bits and parity bits through efficient information block size adjustment, concatenated block coding, and random block interleavers. The objective is to create embedded codewords such that, for a particular information block, the necessary protection is obtained via multiple channel encodings, contrary to the conventional methods that use a single code rate per information block. This way, a more flexible protection scheme is obtained. The information block size and concatenated coding rates are judiciously chosen to maximize system performance, subject to a total bit budget. The set of codes is usually created by puncturing a low-rate mother code so that a single encoder-decoder pair is used. The proposed scheme is shown to effectively enlarge this code set by providing more protection levels than is possible using the code rate set directly. At the expense of complexity, average system performance is shown to be significantly better than that of several known comparison systems, particularly at higher channel bit error rates.