# NTIRE 2025 Challenge on Efficient Burst HDR and Restoration: Datasets, Methods, and Results

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.12089 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.12089/

## Key facts

- Cited by 14 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 72 of its 114 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 17 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 72)

- [U-Net: Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.04597/) (2015)
- [SGDR: Stochastic Gradient Descent with Warm Restarts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.03983/) (2016)
- [Generative Modeling by Estimating Gradients of the Data Distribution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.05600/) (2019)
- [A ConvNet for the 2020s](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.03545/) (2022)
- [Photo-Realistic Single Image Super-Resolution Using a Generative Adversarial Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.04802/) (2016)
- [SwinIR: Image Restoration Using Swin Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.10257/) (2021)
- [Restormer: Efficient Transformer for High-Resolution Image Restoration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.09881/) (2021)
- [Enhanced Deep Residual Networks for Single Image Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.02921/) (2017)
- [Deformable Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.06211/) (2017)
- [Beyond a Gaussian Denoiser: Residual Learning of Deep CNN for Image Denoising](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.03981/) (2016)
- [Image Super-Resolution Using Very Deep Residual Channel Attention Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.02758/) (2018)
- [Multi-Stage Progressive Image Restoration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.02808/) (2021)
- [Deep Multi-scale Convolutional Neural Network for Dynamic Scene Deblurring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.02177/) (2016)
- [MetaFormer Is Actually What You Need for Vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.11418/) (2021)
- [Optical Flow Estimation using a Spatial Pyramid Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.00850/) (2016)
- [Scale-recurrent Network for Deep Image Deblurring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.01770/) (2018)
- [Rethinking Coarse-to-Fine Approach in Single Image Deblurring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.05054/) (2021)
- [Toward Convolutional Blind Denoising of Real Photographs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.04686/) (2018)
- [Unprocessing Images for Learned Raw Denoising](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.11127/) (2018)
- [Learning a Single Convolutional Super-Resolution Network for Multiple Degradations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.06116/) (2017)
- [CycleISP: Real Image Restoration via Improved Data Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.07761/) (2020)
- [HDR image reconstruction from a single exposure using deep CNNs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.07480/) (2017)
- [Burst Denoising with Kernel Prediction Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.02327/) (2017)
- [Single-Image HDR Reconstruction by Learning to Reverse the Camera Pipeline](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.01179/) (2020)
- [SwiftBrush: One-Step Text-to-Image Diffusion Model with Variational Score Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.05239/) (2023)
- [Handheld Multi-Frame Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.03277/) (2019)
- [Deep Burst Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.10997/) (2021)
- [Intriguing Findings of Frequency Selection for Image Deblurring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.11745/) (2021)
- [Temporal Memory Relation Network for Workflow Recognition from Surgical Video](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.16327/) (2021)
- [Improving Image Restoration by Revisiting Global Information Aggregation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.04491/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [NTIRE 2025 Challenge on Video Quality Enhancement for Video Conferencing: Datasets, Methods and Results](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.18988/) (2025)
- [NTIRE 2025 Challenge on RAW Image Restoration and Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02197/) (2025)
- [NTIRE 2025 challenge on Text to Image Generation Model Quality Assessment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.16314/) (2025)
- [NTIRE 2025 XGC Quality Assessment Challenge: Methods and Results](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02875/) (2025)
- [NTIRE 2025 the 2nd Restore Any Image Model (RAIM) in the Wild Challenge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01394/) (2025)
- [RAW Image Reconstruction from RGB on Smartphones. NTIRE 2025 Challenge Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01947/) (2025)
- [It Takes Two: A Duet of Periodicity and Directionality for Burst Flicker Removal](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.22794/) (2026)
- [NTIRE 2025 Challenge on HR Depth from Images of Specular and Transparent Surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.05815/) (2025)
- [Efficient Real-World Deblurring using Single Images: AIM 2025 Challenge Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.12788/) (2025)
- [NTIRE 2025 Image Shadow Removal Challenge Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.15524/) (2025)
- [NTIRE 2025 Challenge on Low Light Image Enhancement: Methods and Results](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.13670/) (2025)
- [InstantHDR: Single-forward Gaussian Splatting Initialization for HDR 3D Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.11298/) (2026)
- [DRIFT: Deep Restoration, ISP Fusion, and Tone-mapping](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.03402/) (2026)
- [Bricker to BRACE: A Bracket Exposure RAW Dataset and Restoration Model for Flicker-Banding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.29845/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper reviews the NTIRE 2025 Efficient Burst HDR and Restoration Challenge, which aims to advance efficient multi-frame high dynamic range (HDR) and restoration techniques. The challenge is based on a novel RAW multi-frame fusion dataset, comprising nine noisy and misaligned RAW frames with various exposure levels per scene. Participants were tasked with developing solutions capable of effectively fusing these frames while adhering to strict efficiency constraints: fewer than 30 million model parameters and a computational budget under 4.0 trillion FLOPs. A total of 217 participants registered, with six teams finally submitting valid solutions. The top-performing approach achieved a PSNR of 43.22 dB, showcasing the potential of novel methods in this domain. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the challenge, compares the proposed solutions, and serves as a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners in efficient burst HDR and restoration.
