Efficient motion estimation using edge-based binary block-matching and refinement based on motion vector correlation

A fast block-matching motion estimation algorithm is proposed for efficient hardware implementation in video coding standards. The proposed algorithm consists of the binary block-matching (BBM) step based on edge information, the first refinement step around the motion vector (MV) obtained from BBM, and the second but conditional refinement step using spatial correlation of neighboring MVs. The proposed algorithm gives the PSNR performance similar to that of the full search. Moreover, due to BBM and the fact that the refinement steps and the half-pel search perform the same operation, its hardware implementation can be performed with several prospective features such as small number of gates, low power consumption, and short critical path delay, etc.