EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference

The goal of the multi-focus image fusion (MFIF) task is to merge images with different focus areas into a single clear image. In real world scenarios, in addition to varying focus attributes, there are also exposure differences between multi-source images, which is an important but often overlooked...

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Main Authors: Hui Li, Tianyu Shen, Zeyang Zhang, Xuefeng Zhu, Xiaoning Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/22/7287
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author Hui Li
Tianyu Shen
Zeyang Zhang
Xuefeng Zhu
Xiaoning Song
author_facet Hui Li
Tianyu Shen
Zeyang Zhang
Xuefeng Zhu
Xiaoning Song
author_sort Hui Li
collection DOAJ
description The goal of the multi-focus image fusion (MFIF) task is to merge images with different focus areas into a single clear image. In real world scenarios, in addition to varying focus attributes, there are also exposure differences between multi-source images, which is an important but often overlooked issue. To address this drawback and improve the development of the MFIF task, a new image fusion dataset is introduced called EDMF. Compared with the existing public MFIF datasets, it contains more images with exposure differences, which is more challenging and has a numerical advantage. Specifically, EDMF contains 1000 pairs of color images captured in real-world scenes, with some pairs exhibiting significant exposure difference. These images are captured using smartphones, encompassing diverse scenes and lighting conditions. Additionally, in this paper, a baseline method is also proposed, which is an improved version of memory unit-based unsupervised learning. By incorporating multiple adaptive memory units and spatial frequency information, the network is guided to focus on learning features from in-focus areas. This approach enables the network to effectively learn focus features during training, resulting in clear fused images that align with human visual perception. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in handling exposure difference, achieving excellent fusion results in various complex scenes.
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spelling doaj-art-134f4df52a6444f4a20fb73194ca077b2025-08-20T01:53:57ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202024-11-012422728710.3390/s24227287EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure DifferenceHui Li0Tianyu Shen1Zeyang Zhang2Xuefeng Zhu3Xiaoning Song4International Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence of Jiangsu Province, School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, ChinaInternational Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence of Jiangsu Province, School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, ChinaInternational Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence of Jiangsu Province, School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, ChinaInternational Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence of Jiangsu Province, School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, ChinaInternational Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence of Jiangsu Province, School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, ChinaThe goal of the multi-focus image fusion (MFIF) task is to merge images with different focus areas into a single clear image. In real world scenarios, in addition to varying focus attributes, there are also exposure differences between multi-source images, which is an important but often overlooked issue. To address this drawback and improve the development of the MFIF task, a new image fusion dataset is introduced called EDMF. Compared with the existing public MFIF datasets, it contains more images with exposure differences, which is more challenging and has a numerical advantage. Specifically, EDMF contains 1000 pairs of color images captured in real-world scenes, with some pairs exhibiting significant exposure difference. These images are captured using smartphones, encompassing diverse scenes and lighting conditions. Additionally, in this paper, a baseline method is also proposed, which is an improved version of memory unit-based unsupervised learning. By incorporating multiple adaptive memory units and spatial frequency information, the network is guided to focus on learning features from in-focus areas. This approach enables the network to effectively learn focus features during training, resulting in clear fused images that align with human visual perception. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in handling exposure difference, achieving excellent fusion results in various complex scenes.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/22/7287datasetmulti-focus image fusionexposure differencememory unit
spellingShingle Hui Li
Tianyu Shen
Zeyang Zhang
Xuefeng Zhu
Xiaoning Song
EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference
Sensors
dataset
multi-focus image fusion
exposure difference
memory unit
title EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference
title_full EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference
title_fullStr EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference
title_full_unstemmed EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference
title_short EDMF: A New Benchmark for Multi-Focus Images with the Challenge of Exposure Difference
title_sort edmf a new benchmark for multi focus images with the challenge of exposure difference
topic dataset
multi-focus image fusion
exposure difference
memory unit
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/22/7287
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