Iris Image Compression Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Compression is a way of encoding digital data so that it takes up less storage and requires less network bandwidth to be transmitted, which is currently an imperative need for iris recognition systems due to the large amounts of data involved, while deep neural networks trained as image auto-encoders have recently emerged a promising direction for advancing the state-of-the-art in image compression, yet the generalizability of these schemes to preserve the unique biometric traits has been questioned when utilized in the corresponding recognition systems. For the first time, we thoroughly investigate the compression effectiveness of DSSLIC, a deep-learning-based image compression model specifically well suited for iris data compression, along with an additional deep-learning based lossy image compression technique. In particular, we relate Full-Reference image quality as measured in terms of Multi-scale Structural Similarity Index (MS-SSIM) and Local Feature Based Visual Security (LFBVS), as well as No-Reference images quality as measured in terms of the Blind Reference-less Image Spatial Quality Evaluator (BRISQUE), to the recognition scores as obtained by a set of concrete recognition systems. We further compare the DSSLIC model performance against several state-of-the-art (non-learning-based) lossy image compression techniques including: the ISO standard JPEG2000, JPEG, H.265 derivate BPG, HEVC, VCC, and AV1 to figure out the most suited compression algorithm which can be used for this purpose. The experimental results show superior compression and promising recognition performance of the model over all other techniques on different iris databases.