Fuzzy logic-based matching pursuits for lossless predictive coding of still images

This paper presents an application of fuzzy-logic techniques to the reversible compression of grayscale images. With reference to a spatial differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) scheme, prediction may be accomplished in a space-varying fashion either as adaptive, i.e., with predictors recalculated at each pixel, or as classified, in which image blocks or pixels are labeled in a number of classes, for which fitting predictors are calculated. Here, an original tradeoff is proposed; a space-varying linear-regression prediction is obtained through fuzzy-logic techniques as a problem of matching pursuit, in which a predictor different for every pixel is obtained as an expansion in series of a finite number of prototype nonorthogonal predictors, that are calculated in a fuzzy fashion as well. To enhance entropy coding, the spatial prediction is followed by context-based statistical modeling of prediction errors. A thorough comparison with the most advanced methods in the literature, as well as an investigation of performance trends and computing times to work parameters, highlight the advantages of the proposed fuzzy approach to data compression.