Improved image magnification algorithm based on Otsu thresholding

An improved image magnification algorithm for gray and color images is presented in this paper to meet the challenge of preserving high-frequency components of an image, including both image edges and texture structures. In the proposed algorithm, a new edge detection method that uses the well-known Otsu automatic optimum thresholding is proposed to distinguish strong edge pixels. The parameters of the original directional cubic convolution interpolation algorithm, which were selected based on training, were eliminated. As a result, our algorithm achieves more accurate edge detection, better interpolation results, and less computational complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that the improved algorithm can reconstruct the magnified image, preserve edges and textures simultaneously, and reduce common interpolation artifacts. Furthermore, it generates higher visual quality of the magnified images and achieves higher peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity, and feature similarity compared with other state-of-the-art methods. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.