An edge-based splitting criterion for adaptive transform coding

A novel splitting strategy for variable block-size image coding based on edge information is presented, which makes it possible to reduce the number of blocks to be encoded while maintaining an in-depth split in edge areas. This approach has been applied to a standard transform coding algorithm, and results have been compared with those obtained by a classical splitting structure. Tests showed a notable increase in the compression factor under the same SNR conditions. Reconstructed images are affected by the blocking effect to a smaller extent, as the problem of generating a large number of small blocks in the uniform areas surrounding an edge is overcome by the proposed split topology.<>