MSAR-DefogNet: Lightweight cloud removal network for high resolution remote sensing images based on multi scale convolution

Abstract

High resolution remote sensing image cloud removal can bring a lot of convenience for human activities. However, the existing cloud removal algorithms have a variety of disadvantages. First of all, they have the disadvantages of long computing time and large consumption of computing resources. Secondly, the effect of recovery needs to be improved. In order to improve the above two points, a near real-time effective algorithm is proposed, namely MSAR-Defognet (multiple scale attention residual network using for cloud remove), which consumes less computing power and space and has superior cloud removal effect. On the one hand, several different large-scale filters are chosen to extract the weak information effectively, while can save the computing power and shorten the image processing time. On the other hand, the fine-grained convolution residual block with channel attention mechanism is used to enhance the network's ability to extract cloud features. In addition, a data set which is closer to the real cloud shape and has higher richness to train the cloud removal network, so that the parameters obtained by training have stronger robustness and can adaptively remove clouds with different thickness. Experiments show that, compared with other advanced network models, the network not only has the advantage of fast processing speed, but also has better image restoration effect in high-resolution remote sensing image restoration. It can meet the requirements of many hard real-time tasks, so that remote sensing images can play a greater value for human activities.