# ELMZip: Onboard Satellite Image Compression via Extreme Learning Machines for Efficient Downlink

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.06942 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.06942/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 15 of its 27 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Aug 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 15 of 15)

- [Implicit Neural Representations with Periodic Activation Functions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.09661/) (2020)
- [Fourier Features Let Networks Learn High Frequency Functions in Low Dimensional Domains](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10739/) (2020)
- [On the Spectral Bias of Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.08734/) (2018)
- [WIRE: Wavelet Implicit Neural Representations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.05187/) (2023)
- [Implicit Neural Representations for Image Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.04267/) (2021)
- [Finite Basis Physics-Informed Neural Networks (FBPINNs): a scalable domain decomposition approach for solving differential equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.07871/) (2021)
- [Beyond Periodicity: Towards a Unifying Framework for Activations in Coordinate-MLPs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.15135/) (2021)
- [VideoINR: Learning Video Implicit Neural Representation for Continuous Space-Time Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.04647/) (2022)
- [FINER: Flexible spectral-bias tuning in Implicit NEural Representation by Variable-periodic Activation Functions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02434/) (2023)
- [Unlocking the Use of Raw Multispectral Earth Observation Imagery for Onboard Artificial Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.11891/) (2023)
- [Fast Training of Sinusoidal Neural Fields via Scaling Initialization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.04779/) (2024)
- [Tackling Few-Shot Segmentation in Remote Sensing via Inpainting Diffusion Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.03785/) (2025)
- [PDEfuncta: Spectrally-Aware Neural Representation for PDE Solution Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12790/) (2025)
- [Fourier-Modulated Implicit Neural Representation for Multispectral Satellite Image Compression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01234/) (2025)
- [Neural Functions for Learning Periodic Signal](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09526/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The acquisition of multispectral imagery via small satellites (e.g., CubeSats) presents significant data downlink challenges due to high data volumes and restricted communication windows. While onboard image compression is critical to address this bottleneck, traditional methods often struggle to adapt to the nonlinear statistics of multi-band, multi-resolution data. To overcome these limitations, we propose ELMZip, a novel framework based on Extreme Learning Machines (ELM) and domain decomposition strategies for efficient, resolution-free onboard neural representation. ELMZip formulates the fitting process as a convex least-squares problem using random-feature single-layer networks, thereby eliminating the need for computationally expensive backpropagation. By adopting an asymmetric transmission protocol that sends only the compact output weights, the proposed method significantly reduces the downlink payload. Unlike previous neural representation approaches that rely on iterative optimization and require transmitting full network parameters, ELMZip achieves significant compression efficiency while maintaining high reconstruction fidelity. This capability enables immediate image reconstruction for analysis, allowing resource-constrained platforms to maximize data return and advancing real-time AI-powered Earth observation.