Paper ID: 2312.15300

Q-Boost: On Visual Quality Assessment Ability of Low-level Multi-Modality Foundation Models

Zicheng Zhang, Haoning Wu, Zhongpeng Ji, Chunyi Li, Erli Zhang, Wei Sun, Xiaohong Liu, Xiongkuo Min, Fengyu Sun, Shangling Jui, Weisi Lin, Guangtao Zhai

Recent advancements in Multi-modality Large Language Models (MLLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in complex high-level vision tasks. However, the exploration of MLLM potential in visual quality assessment, a vital aspect of low-level vision, remains limited. To address this gap, we introduce Q-Boost, a novel strategy designed to enhance low-level MLLMs in image quality assessment (IQA) and video quality assessment (VQA) tasks, which is structured around two pivotal components: 1) Triadic-Tone Integration: Ordinary prompt design simply oscillates between the binary extremes of $positive$ and $negative$. Q-Boost innovates by incorporating a `middle ground' approach through $neutral$ prompts, allowing for a more balanced and detailed assessment. 2) Multi-Prompt Ensemble: Multiple quality-centric prompts are used to mitigate bias and acquire more accurate evaluation. The experimental results show that the low-level MLLMs exhibit outstanding zeros-shot performance on the IQA/VQA tasks equipped with the Q-Boost strategy.

Submitted: Dec 23, 2023