Physicists from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (NRNU MEPhI) have made a breakthrough in combating "graininess" in photos, TASS reported, citing the university's press service. The developed method allows for highly accurate assessment of the noise level and type of the matrix from a single frame, rather than from hundreds of shots, as was previously required.

The mathematical algorithm "breaks down" the image into areas of different brightness and analyzes how the signal deviates from the norm. This allows separating the camera's "inherent" noise from random interference and, for the first time, correctly estimating the PRNU parameter – the difference in pixel sensitivity – from a non-uniform image. The weighted averaging procedure filters out random outliers and produces an accurate digital passport of the matrix.

The technology radically speeds up the process: instead of many hours of processing, the result can be obtained in a matter of minutes. This opens the door to rapid camera setup for scientific experiments, the creation of smarter noise reduction algorithms in smartphones and video surveillance systems. Neural networks, knowing the exact noise characteristics, will be able to more effectively "clean" images without confusing noise with important details – in essence, the technology will begin to understand its own shortcomings and compensate for them at the software level.