LIDAR Data Upsampling With AI Deblocking After Lossy Compression

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Solution Overview

Problem

Lossy compression techniques for LIDAR data introduce artifacts and reduce data fidelity, impacting accuracy and quality, especially in real-time applications like autonomous navigation, and existing lossless methods are inefficient in terms of storage and processing.

Innovation Solution

A neural network-based system that integrates convolutional layers for feature extraction and a channel-wise transformer with attention to mitigate compression artifacts and enhance image quality by recovering range and intensity information in LIDAR data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If lossy compression techniques are used for LIDAR data, then storage and transmission efficiency are improved, but data fidelity and accuracy deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata sizeVSAvoiddata fidelity
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

A neural network is introduced as an intermediary component between the lossy compression decoder and the final LIDAR data output. The neural network takes compressed LIDAR data as input and learns to reconstruct high-fidelity range and intensity information, effectively mediating between the compressed representation and the original data quality requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system transforms the compressed LIDAR data through a neural network that learns optimal parameter transformations to recover lost information. The network adjusts internal parameters (weights and biases) during training to maximize data fidelity while working with the compressed input representation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If lossless compression methods are used for LIDAR data, then data fidelity is preserved, but storage and processing efficiency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata fidelityVSAvoidprocessing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system accepts that some information loss occurs during compression but uses a trained neural network to recover the essential fidelity needed for the application. Rather than preserving all original data through expensive lossless compression, the system uses a lighter, faster compressed representation that is sufficient when enhanced by the neural network.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Manufacturing precision

If compression artifacts are reduced through traditional filtering methods, then image quality is improved, but computational complexity and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage qualityVSAvoidcomputational complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Traditional mechanical filtering and post-processing methods are replaced with a neural network-based approach. The neural network learns artifact removal patterns during training and automatically applies them during inference, replacing complex multi-step filtering pipelines with a single integrated model that achieves comparable or superior results with optimized computational efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS12469179B2System and methods for upsampling of decompressed data after lossy compression using a neural network
Publication Date: 2025.11.11 ATOMBEAM TECH INC
  • US12469179B2 patent drawing
  • US12469179B2 patent drawing
  • US12469179B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A system and method for Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) image compression integrates AI-based techniques to enhance compression quality. It incorporates a novel AI deblocking network composed of convolutional layers for feature extraction and a channel-wise transformer with attention to capture complex inter-channel dependencies. The convolutional layers extract multi-dimensional features from the LIDAR, while the channel-wise transformer learns global inter-channel relationships. This hybrid approach addresses both local and global features, mitigating compression artifacts and improving image quality. The model's outputs enable effective LIDAR image reconstruction, achieving advanced compression while preserving crucial information for accurate analysis.