Many image processing networks apply a single set of static convolutional kernels across the entire input image, which is sub-optimal for natural images, as they often consist of heterogeneous visual patterns. Recent works in classification, segmentation, and image restoration have demonstrated that dynamic kernels outperform static kernels at modeling local image statistics. However, these works often adopt per-pixel convolution kernels, which introduce high memory and computation costs. To achieve spatial-varying processing without significant overhead, we present Malleable Convolution (MalleConv), as an efficient variant of dynamic convolution. The weights of MalleConv are dynamically produced by an efficient predictor network capable of generating content-dependent outputs at specific spatial locations. Unlike previous works, MalleConv generates a much smaller set of spatially-varying kernels from input, which enlarges the network's receptive field and significantly reduces computational and memory costs. These kernels are then applied to a full-resolution feature map through an efficient slice-and-conv operator with minimum memory overhead. We further build an efficient denoising network using MalleConv, coined as MalleNet. It achieves high quality results without very deep architecture, e.g., reaching 8.91x faster speed compared to the best performed denoising algorithms (SwinIR), while maintaining similar performance. We also show that a single MalleConv added to a standard convolution-based backbone can contribute significantly to reducing the computational cost or boosting image quality at a similar cost. Project page: https://yifanjiang.net/MalleConv.html
翻译:许多图像处理网络在整个输入图像中应用单一的静态共变内核,这是自然图像的次最佳变体,因为自然图像往往由不同视觉模式组成。最近在分类、分解和图像恢复方面开展的工作表明,动态内核在模拟本地图像统计时的静态内核外形。然而,这些工作往往采用单像项共变内核,从而引入高内存和计算成本。为了实现空间互换处理而无需大量间接费用,我们将可变互换(MalleConv)作为动态相变的有效变体。MalleMalConv的权重由高效的预测网络动态生成,能够在特定空间位置生成依赖内容的产出。与以往的工作不同,Malle Convor生成了一套较小空间互换的内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内核内