JPEG Processing Neural Operator for Backward-Compatible CodingWoo Kyoung Han, Yongjun Lee, Byeonghun Lee et al.
Despite significant advances in learning-based lossy compression algorithms, standardizing codecs remains a critical challenge. In this paper, we present the JPEG Processing Neural Operator (JPNeO), a next-generation JPEG algorithm that maintains full backward compatibility with the current JPEG format. Our JPNeO improves chroma component preservation and enhances reconstruction fidelity compared to existing artifact removal methods by incorporating neural operators in both the encoding and decoding stages. JPNeO achieves practical benefits in terms of reduced memory usage and parameter count. We further validate our hypothesis about the existence of a space with high mutual information through empirical evidence. In summary, the JPNeO functions as a high-performance out-of-the-box image compression pipeline without changing source coding's protocol. Our source code is available at https://github.com/WooKyoungHan/JPNeO.
Learning Residual Elastic Warps for Image Stitching under Dirichlet Boundary ConditionMinsu Kim, Yongjun Lee, Woo Kyoung Han et al.
Trendy suggestions for learning-based elastic warps enable the deep image stitchings to align images exposed to large parallax errors. Despite the remarkable alignments, the methods struggle with occasional holes or discontinuity between overlapping and non-overlapping regions of a target image as the applied training strategy mostly focuses on overlap region alignment. As a result, they require additional modules such as seam finder and image inpainting for hiding discontinuity and filling holes, respectively. In this work, we suggest Recurrent Elastic Warps (REwarp) that address the problem with Dirichlet boundary condition and boost performances by residual learning for recurrent misalign correction. Specifically, REwarp predicts a homography and a Thin-plate Spline (TPS) under the boundary constraint for discontinuity and hole-free image stitching. Our experiments show the favorable aligns and the competitive computational costs of REwarp compared to the existing stitching methods. Our source code is available at https://github.com/minshu-kim/REwarp.
4.1LGOct 17, 2025
OffSim: Offline Simulator for Model-based Offline Inverse Reinforcement LearningWoo-Jin Ahn, Sang-Ryul Baek, Yong-Jun Lee et al.
Reinforcement learning algorithms typically utilize an interactive simulator (i.e., environment) with a predefined reward function for policy training. Developing such simulators and manually defining reward functions, however, is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. To address this, we propose an Offline Simulator (OffSim), a novel model-based offline inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) framework, to emulate environmental dynamics and reward structure directly from expert-generated state-action trajectories. OffSim jointly optimizes a high-entropy transition model and an IRL-based reward function to enhance exploration and improve the generalizability of the learned reward. Leveraging these learned components, OffSim can subsequently train a policy offline without further interaction with the real environment. Additionally, we introduce OffSim$^+$, an extension that incorporates a marginal reward for multi-dataset settings to enhance exploration. Extensive MuJoCo experiments demonstrate that OffSim achieves substantial performance gains over existing offline IRL methods, confirming its efficacy and robustness.