Low-complexity algorithm for fractional-pixel motion estimation

This paper presents low-complexity algorithm for fractional-pixel motion estimation (FME). The proposed algorithm uses a mathematical model to approximate the matching error at fractional-pixel locations. Hence, no interpolation is required at fractional-pixel locations. The matching error values at integer-pixel locations are used to evaluate the model coefficients. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been compared with other FME algorithms including the full quarter-pixel search (FQPS) algorithm. The performance analysis shows that the proposed algorithm has about 93% less computational complexity than the FQPS algorithm for approximately 0.2 dB drop in the reconstruction PSNR values.