[ptx] Super-resolution images from many registered digicam images

[Sebastian Nowozin]

Hello,


I am dabbling with the idea to implement a resolution increase/fusion
algorithm to combine two or more digicam images to one higher resolution
image.

  A friend of mine suggested the following simple procedure: 1. Do a subpixel
registration of all the images,  2. Transform them (using nona),  3. Upscale
them using a good interpolation algorithm,  4. Merge them by averaging.

Now two questions.  First, do you think this procedure would practically work?
I.e. is the interpolation algorithm nona uses precise enough?  Second, does
nona support sub-pixel control point coordinates?  (With autopano-sift I can
easily output subpixel coordinates for the keypoints).


I found some papers (http://ivrgwww.epfl.ch/publications/vsv04.pdf and
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/675638.html), but their algorithm is targeted at
aliasing-artefact removal and they conclude:

  "The optical systems that are mostly used nowadays limit the application of
   this super-resolution technique in digital cameras. Because aliasing
   artifacts are very disturbing, the optical system of most digital cameras
   is designed such that all high frequencies are removed. The entire image is
   slightly blurred, but no more aliasing is visible. This of course causes
   our algorithm to fail, because it relies exactly on this high frequency
   information."


Other papers are (keyword "super resolution"):
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/patti97super.html
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/nguyen00numerical.html
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/farsiu03fast.html
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/zomet01robust.html
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/borman98superresolution.html
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/319998.html
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/zomet01superresolution.html


However, I would like an expert here point me at the current state-of-the-art
for creating super-resolution images from normal digicam images (ie. without
any special equipment besides a tripod).


Thanks in advance,
Sebastian

-- 
nowozin at cs.tu-berlin.de --- http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~nowozin/