Comparison of direct blind deconvolution methods for motion-blurred images

Direct methods for restoration of images blurred by motion are analyzed and compared. The term direct means that the considered methods are performed in a one-step fashion without any iterative technique. The blurring point-s pread function is assumed to be unknown, and therefore the image restoratio n process is called blind deconvolution. What is believed to be a new direc t method, here called the whitening method, was recently developed. This me thod and other existing direct methods such as the homomorphic and the ceps tral techniques are studied and compared for a variety of motion types. Var ious criteria such as quality of restoration, sensitivity to noise, and com putation requirements are considered. It appears that the recently develope d method shows some improvements over other older methods. The research pre sented here clarifies the differences among the direct methods and offers a n experimental basis for choosing which blind deconvolution method to use. In addition, some improvements on the methods are suggested. (C) 1999 Optic al Society of America. OCIS codes: 100.0100, 100.1830, 100.3020, 110.4850.