What is Super-Resolution? What's the application of super-resolution?

Shirley

Member
Noadays, super-resolution technology can also be seen in some smart devices such as TVs and projectors that we commonly use. So what exactly is super-resolution? This article will introduce the principle of super-resolution technology and its application in scenarios.

Super-resolution is a classic concept in the field of computer vision. Its image enhancement and denoising, detail restoration, etc. all show the outstanding advantages of the technology. Super-resolution has important application value in monitoring equipment, satellite images, medical imaging and video restoration.

What is super-resolution?​


Super-resolution refers to the technology of reconstructing low-resolution images (Low Resolution, LR) through relevant image quality to present corresponding high-resolution images (High Resolution, HR). The full name is Super-Resolution, and "SR" is its abbreviation. This technology can purify the small details and enhanced features in the picture to a certain extent, and produce a clearer picture effect through a series of technical processing, bringing a comfortable and clear visual experience to the audience.

Super-resolution technology mainly has two image quality processing methods, namely image interpolation method and deep learning method:

  • Image interpolation
The gray value of the unknown pixel is generated by using the gray value of the known adjacent pixel, so that the original image is regenerated to produce an image with a higher resolution. This method only refers to the current single low-resolution image, and improves the image quality by changing the number of image pixels.

What is super-resolution?


  • Deep learning method

The deep learning method is to establish a deep neural network super-resolution model in advance. It inputs the low-resolution image into the trained super-resolution model, and uses the deep neural network to reconstruct the high-frequency details of the image. At the same time, the complementary information between adjacent images is used to restore the portrait in the form of aliasing, so as to obtain a better picture display effect. The method is divided into three steps: feature extraction, nonlinear transformation and image reconstruction, and its calculation process refers to multiple images or multiple video frames.

The Difference:
Among these two methods, the latter has better reconstruction quality of high-resolution video images than the former, and the computational complexity is also higher.

Usually, the video image recovery process is more demanding. It is not only necessary to generate frame-by-frame images with rich details, but also to continuously maintain the coherence and fluency between images. Therefore, in this case, super-resolution technology based on deep learning method is mostly used.

What are the scene applications of super-resolution?​


Super-resolution technology has been widely used in many fields, and the application scenarios in four professional fields are listed below.

1. Public safety: Reconstruct images in public surveillance areas, allowing people to see faces, license plates, etc. in surveillance images more clearly.

2. Remote sensing satellites: Improve the clarity of images captured by satellites and better identify tiny details of roads or streets.

3. Medical field: Improve the high-definition display of medical images, accurately locate the lesion area, and help doctors make better diagnoses.

4. Virtual reality: reshape low-resolution images in virtual scenes, and provide high-definition scenes to bring users a more realistic experience.

What are the scene applications of super-resolution?


Users of the above major application scenarios may not be able to directly access them, but the application of super-resolution technology in smart home scenarios must be familiar to everyone. In the field of large-screen display, some high-quality smart TVs, smart projection and other equipment are equipped with this technology.

Super resolution application


The application of super-resolution technology can reconstruct more details and improve picture accuracy, and has unique application value in various fields. At present, the devices using this technology on the large screen end are relatively forward-thinking. Relying on this cutting-edge technology, users can have a better large-screen experience when watching videos.
 
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