Class-adapted image compression using independent component analysis

This paper exploits independent component analysis (ICA) to obtain transform-based compression schemes adapted to specific image classes. This adaptation results from the data-dependent nature of the ICA bases, learnt from training images. Several coder architectures are evaluated and compared, according to both standard (SNR) and perceptual (picture quality scale - PQS) criteria, on two classes of images: faces and fingerprints. For fingerprint images, our coders perform close to the well-known special-purpose wavelet-based coder developed by the FBI. For face images, our ICA-based coders clearly outperform JPEG at the low bit-rates herein considered.