Image restoration is defined as the process of taking a degraded image and performing some operation to restore or improve the quality of the images. A typical example would be to reduce blur in the image caused by lens distortion or motion induced by camera.
Degraded image -> some operation -> Output image with better quality
It is to be noted that image restoration is a difficult task because it involves recovery of lost information. To restore a degraded image we are trying to solve an ill-posed problem in mathematical terms. Image restoration can be categorized as solving an inverse problem.
Examples: Denoising, Deblurring, Dehazing, Deraining, etc.
Applications:
- Medical: image denoising
- Life Sciences: Microscopy image super resolution
- Automotive: Defogging and Deraining
- Surveillance: Deraining and Dehazing