Binarized Neural Network for Multi-spectral Image Fusion

Pan-sharpening technology refers to generating a high-resolution (HR) multi-spectral (MS) image with broad applications by fusing a low-resolution (LR) MS image and HR panchromatic (PAN) image. While deep learning approaches have shown impressive performance in pan-sharpening, they generally require extensive hardware with high memory and computational power, limiting their deployment on resource-constrained satellites. In this study, we investigate the use of binary neural networks (BNNs) for pan-sharpening and observe that binarization leads to distinct information degradation across different frequency components of an image. Building on this insight, we propose a novel binary pan-sharpening network, termed BNNPan, structured around the Prior-Integrated Binary Frequency (PIBF) module that features three key ingredients: Binary Wavelet Transform Convolution, Latent Diffusion Prior Compensation, and Channel-wise Distribution Calibration. Specifically, the first decomposes input features into distinct frequency components using Wavelet Transform, then applies a “divide-and-conquer” strategy to optimize binary feature learning for each component, informed by the corresponding full-precision residual statistics. The second integrates a latent diffusion prior to compensate for compromised information during binarization, while the third performs channel-wise calibration to further refine feature representation. Our BNNPan, developed using the proposed techniques, achieves promising pan-sharpening performance while maintaining favorable computational overhead. Experiments on multiple remote sensing datasets manifest that our proposed BNNPan outperforms state-of-the-art binarization algorithms.