Patent ID: 6266451
Filing Date: 2001-07-24
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method for encoding a digital signal (IM, f), such as a digital image, after the digital signal is initially partitioned into initial elementary subsets (K.sub.1), the method comprising, for each elementary subset, the steps of:comparing a dimension of the elementary subset with a predetermined minimum dimension;estimating a division suitability criterion if the subset has a dimension larger than the predetermined minimum dimension;supplementary partitioning the elementary subset into smaller elementary subsets if the division suitability criterion is met;reiterating the comparing, estimating, and supplementary partitioning steps for each of the smaller elementary subsets;constructing an elementary mapping of a plurality of working subsets in the elementary subset, if either the subset has a dimension equal to or smaller than the predetermined minimum dimension or the division suitability criterion is not met;determining a set of parameters (a.sub.i, b) associated with a global contractive mapping from the plurality of working subsets to the elementary subset, the fixed point of the global contractive mapping constituting an approximation of the elementary subset; andencoding the set of parameters (a.sub.i, b) determined in the determining step to provide encoded parameters constituting a primary representation of the encoded digital signal.