An efficient feature reuse distillation network for lightweight image super-resolution

Abstract

In recent research, single-image super-resolution (SISR) using deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) has seen significant advancements. While previous methods excelled at learning complex mappings between low-resolution (LR) and high-resolution (HR) images, they often required substantial computational and memory resources. We propose the Efficient Feature Reuse Distillation Network (EFRDN) to alleviate these challenges. EFRDN primarily comprises Asymmetric Convolutional Distillation Modules (ACDM), incorporating the Multiple Self-Calibrating Convolution (MSCC) units for spatial and channel feature extraction. It includes an Asymmetric Convolution Residual Block (ACRB) to enhance the skeleton information of the square convolution kernel and a Feature Fusion Lattice Block (FFLB) to convert low-order input signals into higher-order representations. Introducing a Transformer module for global features, we enhance feature reuse and gradient flow, improving model performance and efficiency. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that EFRDN outperforms existing methods in performance while conserving computing and memory resources.