HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion

The purpose of infrared and visible image fusion is to combine the advantages of both and generate a fused image that contains target information and has rich details and contrast. However, existing fusion algorithms often overlook the importance of incorporating both local and global feature extrac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wenqing Wang, Lingzhou Li, Yifei Yang, Han Liu, Runyuan Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/23/7729
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850060047692857344
author Wenqing Wang
Lingzhou Li
Yifei Yang
Han Liu
Runyuan Guo
author_facet Wenqing Wang
Lingzhou Li
Yifei Yang
Han Liu
Runyuan Guo
author_sort Wenqing Wang
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of infrared and visible image fusion is to combine the advantages of both and generate a fused image that contains target information and has rich details and contrast. However, existing fusion algorithms often overlook the importance of incorporating both local and global feature extraction, leading to missing key information in the fused image. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a dual-branch fusion network combining convolutional neural network (CNN) and Transformer, which enhances the feature extraction capability and motivates the fused image to contain more information. Firstly, a local feature extraction module with CNN as the core is constructed. Specifically, the residual gradient module is used to enhance the ability of the network to extract texture information. Also, jump links and coordinate attention are used in order to relate shallow features to deeper ones. In addition, a global feature extraction module based on Transformer is constructed. Through the powerful ability of Transformer, the global context information of the image can be captured and the global features are fully extracted. The effectiveness of the proposed method in this paper is verified on different experimental datasets, and it is better than most of the current advanced fusion algorithms.
format Article
id doaj-art-d6eec3fe07ae4f178e1820caaebb95ae
institution DOAJ
issn 1424-8220
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj-art-d6eec3fe07ae4f178e1820caaebb95ae2025-08-20T02:50:41ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202024-12-012423772910.3390/s24237729HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image FusionWenqing Wang0Lingzhou Li1Yifei Yang2Han Liu3Runyuan Guo4School of Automation and Information Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Automation and Information Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Automation and Information Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Automation and Information Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Automation and Information Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaThe purpose of infrared and visible image fusion is to combine the advantages of both and generate a fused image that contains target information and has rich details and contrast. However, existing fusion algorithms often overlook the importance of incorporating both local and global feature extraction, leading to missing key information in the fused image. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a dual-branch fusion network combining convolutional neural network (CNN) and Transformer, which enhances the feature extraction capability and motivates the fused image to contain more information. Firstly, a local feature extraction module with CNN as the core is constructed. Specifically, the residual gradient module is used to enhance the ability of the network to extract texture information. Also, jump links and coordinate attention are used in order to relate shallow features to deeper ones. In addition, a global feature extraction module based on Transformer is constructed. Through the powerful ability of Transformer, the global context information of the image can be captured and the global features are fully extracted. The effectiveness of the proposed method in this paper is verified on different experimental datasets, and it is better than most of the current advanced fusion algorithms.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/23/7729image fusioninfrared imagevisible imageTransformerCNN
spellingShingle Wenqing Wang
Lingzhou Li
Yifei Yang
Han Liu
Runyuan Guo
HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion
Sensors
image fusion
infrared image
visible image
Transformer
CNN
title HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion
title_full HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion
title_fullStr HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion
title_full_unstemmed HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion
title_short HDCTfusion: Hybrid Dual-Branch Network Based on CNN and Transformer for Infrared and Visible Image Fusion
title_sort hdctfusion hybrid dual branch network based on cnn and transformer for infrared and visible image fusion
topic image fusion
infrared image
visible image
Transformer
CNN
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/23/7729
work_keys_str_mv AT wenqingwang hdctfusionhybriddualbranchnetworkbasedoncnnandtransformerforinfraredandvisibleimagefusion
AT lingzhouli hdctfusionhybriddualbranchnetworkbasedoncnnandtransformerforinfraredandvisibleimagefusion
AT yifeiyang hdctfusionhybriddualbranchnetworkbasedoncnnandtransformerforinfraredandvisibleimagefusion
AT hanliu hdctfusionhybriddualbranchnetworkbasedoncnnandtransformerforinfraredandvisibleimagefusion
AT runyuanguo hdctfusionhybriddualbranchnetworkbasedoncnnandtransformerforinfraredandvisibleimagefusion