Scalable Perceptual Image Coding for Remote Sensing Systems

In this work, a scalable perceptual JPEG2000 encoder that exploits properties of the human visual system (HVS) is presented. The algorithm modifies the final three stages of a conventional JPEG2000 encoder. In the first stage, the quantization step size for each subband is chosen to be the inverse of the contrast sensitivity function (CSF). In bit-plane coding, two masking effects are considered during distortion calculation. In the final bitstream formation step, quality layers are formed corresponding to desired perceptual distortion thresholds. This modified encoder exhibits superior visual performance for remote sensing images compared to conventional JPEG2000 encoders. Additionally, it is completely JPEG2000 Part-1 compliant, and therefore can be decoded by any JPEG2000 decoder.