Scaling Laws in Patchification: An Image Is Worth 50,176 Tokens And More

Since the introduction of Vision Transformer (ViT), patchification has long been regarded as a de facto image tokenization approach for plain visual architectures. By compressing the spatial size of images, this approach can effectively shorten the token sequence and reduce the computational cost of ViT-like plain architectures. In this work, we aim to thoroughly examine the information loss caused by this patchification-based compressive encoding paradigm and how it affects visual understanding. We conduct extensive patch size scaling experiments and excitedly observe an intriguing scaling law in patchification: the models can consistently benefit from decreased patch sizes and attain improved predictive performance, until it reaches the minimum patch size of 1x1, i.e., pixel tokenization. This conclusion is broadly applicable across different vision tasks, various input scales, and diverse architectures such as ViT and the recent Mamba models. Moreover, as a by-product, we discover that with smaller patches, task-specific decoder heads become less critical for dense prediction. In the experiments, we successfully scale up the visual sequence to an exceptional length of 50,176 tokens, achieving a competitive test accuracy of 84.6% with a base-sized model on the ImageNet-1k benchmark. We hope this study can provide insights and theoretical foundations for future works of building non-compressive vision models. Code is available at https://github.com/wangf3014/Patch_Scaling.

EFKAN: A KAN-Integrated Neural Operator For Efficient Magnetotelluric Forward Modeling

Magnetotelluric (MT) forward modeling is fundamental for improving the accuracy and efficiency of MT inversion. Neural operators (NOs) have been effectively used for rapid MT forward modeling, demonstrating their promising performance in solving the MT forward modeling-related partial differential equations (PDEs). Particularly, they can obtain the electromagnetic field at arbitrary locations and frequencies. In these NOs, the projection layers have been dominated by multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs), which may potentially reduce the accuracy of solution due to they usually suffer from the disadvantages of MLPs, such as lack of interpretability, overfitting, and so on. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of MT forward modeling with NOs and explore the potential alternatives to MLPs, we propose a novel neural operator by extending the Fourier neural operator (FNO) with Kolmogorov-Arnold network (EFKAN). Within the EFKAN framework, the FNO serves as the branch network to calculate the apparent resistivity and phase from the resistivity model in the frequency domain. Meanwhile, the KAN acts as the trunk network to project the resistivity and phase, determined by the FNO, to the desired locations and frequencies. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method not only achieves higher accuracy in obtaining apparent resistivity and phase compared to the NO equipped with MLPs at the desired frequencies and locations but also outperforms traditional numerical methods in terms of computational speed.

UD-Mamba: A pixel-level uncertainty-driven Mamba model for medical image segmentation

Recent advancements have highlighted the Mamba framework, a state-space model known for its efficiency in capturing long-range dependencies with linear computational complexity. While Mamba has shown competitive performance in medical image segmentation, it encounters difficulties in modeling local features due to the sporadic nature of traditional location-based scanning methods and the complex, ambiguous boundaries often present in medical images. To overcome these challenges, we propose Uncertainty-Driven Mamba (UD-Mamba), which redefines the pixel-order scanning process by incorporating channel uncertainty into the scanning mechanism. UD-Mamba introduces two key scanning techniques: 1) sequential scanning, which prioritizes regions with high uncertainty by scanning in a row-by-row fashion, and 2) skip scanning, which processes columns vertically, moving from high-to-low or low-to-high uncertainty at fixed intervals. Sequential scanning efficiently clusters high-uncertainty regions, such as boundaries and foreground objects, to improve segmentation precision, while skip scanning enhances the interaction between background and foreground regions, allowing for timely integration of background information to support more accurate foreground inference. Recognizing the advantages of scanning from certain to uncertain areas, we introduce four learnable parameters to balance the importance of features extracted from different scanning methods. Additionally, a cosine consistency loss is employed to mitigate the drawbacks of transitioning between uncertain and certain regions during the scanning process. Our method demonstrates robust segmentation performance, validated across three distinct medical imaging datasets involving pathology, dermatological lesions, and cardiac tasks.

CausalSR: Structural Causal Model-Driven Super-Resolution with Counterfactual Inference

Physical and optical factors interacting with sensor characteristics create complex image degradation patterns. Despite advances in deep learning-based super-resolution, existing methods overlook the causal nature of degradation by adopting simplistic black-box mappings. This paper formulates super-resolution using structural causal models to reason about image degradation processes. We establish a mathematical foundation that unifies principles from causal inference, deriving necessary conditions for identifying latent degradation mechanisms and corresponding propagation. We propose a novel counterfactual learning strategy that leverages semantic guidance to reason about hypothetical degradation scenarios, leading to theoretically-grounded representations that capture invariant features across different degradation conditions. The framework incorporates an adaptive intervention mechanism with provable bounds on treatment effects, allowing precise manipulation of degradation factors while maintaining semantic consistency. Through extensive empirical validation, we demonstrate that our approach achieves significant improvements over state-of-the-art methods, particularly in challenging scenarios with compound degradations. On standard benchmarks, our method consistently outperforms existing approaches by significant margins (0.86-1.21dB PSNR), while providing interpretable insights into the restoration process. The theoretical framework and empirical results demonstrate the fundamental importance of causal reasoning in understanding image restoration systems.

LayerAnimate: Layer-specific Control for Animation

Animated video separates foreground and background elements into layers, with distinct processes for sketching, refining, coloring, and in-betweening. Existing video generation methods typically treat animation as a monolithic data domain, lacking fine-grained control over individual layers. In this paper, we introduce LayerAnimate, a novel architectural approach that enhances fine-grained control over individual animation layers within a video diffusion model, allowing users to independently manipulate foreground and background elements in distinct layers. To address the challenge of limited layer-specific data, we propose a data curation pipeline that features automated element segmentation, motion-state hierarchical merging, and motion coherence refinement. Through quantitative and qualitative comparisons, and user study, we demonstrate that LayerAnimate outperforms current methods in terms of animation quality, control precision, and usability, making it an ideal tool for both professional animators and amateur enthusiasts. This framework opens up new possibilities for layer-specific animation applications and creative flexibility. Our code is available at https://layeranimate.github.io.

Single-image reflection removal via self-supervised diffusion models

Reflections often degrade the visual quality of images captured through transparent surfaces, and reflection removal methods suffers from the shortage of paired real-world samples.This paper proposes a hybrid approach that combines cycle-consistency with denoising diffusion probabilistic models (DDPM) to effectively remove reflections from single images without requiring paired training data. The method introduces a Reflective Removal Network (RRN) that leverages DDPMs to model the decomposition process and recover the transmission image, and a Reflective Synthesis Network (RSN) that re-synthesizes the input image using the separated components through a nonlinear attention-based mechanism. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on the SIR$^2$, Flash-Based Reflection Removal (FRR) Dataset, and a newly introduced Museum Reflection Removal (MRR) dataset, showing superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.

HEP-NAS: Towards Efficient Few-shot Neural Architecture Search via Hierarchical Edge Partitioning

One-shot methods have significantly advanced the field of neural architecture search (NAS) by adopting weight-sharing strategy to reduce search costs. However, the accuracy of performance estimation can be compromised by co-adaptation. Few-shot methods divide the entire supernet into individual sub-supernets by splitting edge by edge to alleviate this issue, yet neglect relationships among edges and result in performance degradation on huge search space. In this paper, we introduce HEP-NAS, a hierarchy-wise partition algorithm designed to further enhance accuracy. To begin with, HEP-NAS treats edges sharing the same end node as a hierarchy, permuting and splitting edges within the same hierarchy to directly search for the optimal operation combination for each intermediate node. This approach aligns more closely with the ultimate goal of NAS. Furthermore, HEP-NAS selects the most promising sub-supernet after each segmentation, progressively narrowing the search space in which the optimal architecture may exist. To improve performance evaluation of sub-supernets, HEP-NAS employs search space mutual distillation, stabilizing the training process and accelerating the convergence of each individual sub-supernet. Within a given budget, HEP-NAS enables the splitting of all edges and gradually searches for architectures with higher accuracy. Experimental results across various datasets and search spaces demonstrate the superiority of HEP-NAS compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Towards Flexible 3D Perception: Object-Centric Occupancy Completion Augments 3D Object Detection

While 3D object bounding box (bbox) representation has been widely used in autonomous driving perception, it lacks the ability to capture the precise details of an object's intrinsic geometry. Recently, occupancy has emerged as a promising alternative for 3D scene perception. However, constructing a high-resolution occupancy map remains infeasible for large scenes due to computational constraints. Recognizing that foreground objects only occupy a small portion of the scene, we introduce object-centric occupancy as a supplement to object bboxes. This representation not only provides intricate details for detected objects but also enables higher voxel resolution in practical applications. We advance the development of object-centric occupancy perception from both data and algorithm perspectives. On the data side, we construct the first object-centric occupancy dataset from scratch using an automated pipeline. From the algorithmic standpoint, we introduce a novel object-centric occupancy completion network equipped with an implicit shape decoder that manages dynamic-size occupancy generation. This network accurately predicts the complete object-centric occupancy volume for inaccurate object proposals by leveraging temporal information from long sequences. Our method demonstrates robust performance in completing object shapes under noisy detection and tracking conditions. Additionally, we show that our occupancy features significantly enhance the detection results of state-of-the-art 3D object detectors, especially for incomplete or distant objects in the Waymo Open Dataset.

Joint Mode Selection and Beamforming Designs for Hybrid-RIS Assisted ISAC Systems

This paper considers a hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) assisted integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system, where each RIS element can flexibly switch between the active and passive modes. Subject to the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraint for each communication user (CU) and the transmit power constraints for both the base station (BS) and the active RIS elements, with the objective of maximizing the minimum beampattern gain among multiple targets, we jointly optimize the BS transmit beamforming for ISAC and the mode selection of each RIS reflecting element, as well as the RIS reflection coefficient matrix. Such formulated joint hybrid-RIS assisted ISAC design problem is a mixed-integer nonlinear program, which is decomposed into two low-dimensional subproblems being solved in an alternating manner. Specifically, by using the semidefinite relaxation (SDR) technique along with the rank-one beamforming construction process, we efficiently obtain the optimal ISAC transmit beamforming design at the BS. Via the SDR and successive convex approximation (SCA) techniques, we jointly determine the active/passive mode selection and reflection coefficient for each RIS element. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed design solution is significantly superior to the existing baseline solutions.

Non-Terrestrial Networking for 6G: Evolution, Opportunities, and Future Directions

From 5G onwards, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) have emerged as a key component of future network architectures. Leveraging Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, NTNs are capable of building a space Internet and present a paradigm shift in delivering mobile services to even the most remote regions on Earth. However, the extensive coverage and rapid movement of LEO satellites pose unique challenges for NTN networking, including user equipment (UE) access and inter-satellite delivery, which directly impact the quality of service (QoS) and data transmission continuity. This paper offers an in-depth review of advanced NTN management technologies in the context of 6G evolution, focusing on radio resource management, mobility management, and dynamic network slicing. Building on this foundation and considering the latest trends in NTN development, we then present some innovative perspectives to emerging challenges in satellite beamforming, handover mechanisms, and inter-satellite transmissions. Lastly, we identify open research issues and propose future directions aimed at advancing satellite Internet deployment and enhancing NTN performance.