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arXiv · 2604.11230

NTIRE 2026 The 3rd Restore Any Image Model (RAIM) Challenge: AI Flash Portrait (Track 3)

Ya-nan Guan·Shaonan Zhang·Hang Guo·Yawen Wang·Xinying Fan·Tianqu Zhuang·Jie Liang·Hui Zeng·Guanyi Qin·Lishen Qu·Tao Dai·Shu-Tao Xia·Lei Zhang·Radu Timofte·Bin Chen·Yuanbo Zhou·Hongwei Wang·Qinquan Gao·Tong Tong·Yanxin Qian·Lizhao You·Jingru Cong·Lei Xiong·Shuyuan Zhu·Zhi-Qiang Zhong·Kan Lv·Yang Yang·Kailing Tang·Minjian Zhang·Zhipei Lei·Zhe Xu·Liwen Zhang·Dingyong Gou·Yanlin Wu·Cong Li·Xiaohui Cui·Jiajia Liu·Guoyi Xu·Yaoxin Jiang·Yaokun Shi·Jiachen Tu·Liqing Wang·Shihang Li·Bo Zhang·Biao Wang·Haiming Xu·Xiang Long·Xurui Liao·Yanqiao Zhai·Haozhe Li·Shijun Shi·Jiangning Zhang·Yong Liu·Kai Hu·Jing Xu·Xianfang Zeng·Yuyang Liu·Minchen Wei
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Abstract

In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of the NTIRE 2026 3rd Restore Any Image Model (RAIM) challenge, with a specific focus on Track 3: AI Flash Portrait. Despite significant advancements in deep learning for image restoration, existing models still encounter substantial challenges in real-world low-light portrait scenarios. Specifically, they struggle to achieve an optimal balance among noise suppression, detail preservation, and faithful illumination and color reproduction. To bridge this gap, this challenge aims to establish a novel benchmark for real-world low-light portrait restoration. We comprehensively evaluate the proposed algorithms utilizing a hybrid evaluation system that integrates objective quantitative metrics with rigorous subjective assessment protocols. For this competition, we provide a dataset containing 800 groups of real-captured low-light portrait data. Each group consists of a 1K-resolution low-light input image, a 1K ground truth (GT), and a 1K person mask. This challenge has garnered widespread attention from both academia and industry, attracting over 100 participating teams and receiving more than 3,000 valid submissions. This report details the motivation behind the challenge, the dataset construction process, the evaluation metrics, and the various phases of the competition. The released dataset and baseline code for this track are publicly available from the same \href{https://github.com/zsn1434/AI_Flash-BaseLine/tree/main}{GitHub repository}, and the official challenge webpage is hosted on \href{https://www.codabench.org/competitions/12885/}{CodaBench}.

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Ya-nan Guan, Shaonan Zhang, Hang Guo, Yawen Wang, Xinying Fan, Tianqu Zhuang, Jie Liang, Hui Zeng, Guanyi Qin, Lishen Qu, Tao Dai, Shu-Tao Xia, Lei Zhang, Radu Timofte, Bin Chen, Yuanbo Zhou, Hongwei Wang, Qinquan Gao, Tong Tong, Yanxin Qian, Lizhao You, Jingru Cong, Lei Xiong, Shuyuan Zhu, Zhi-Qiang Zhong, Kan Lv, Yang Yang, Kailing Tang, Minjian Zhang, Zhipei Lei, Zhe Xu, Liwen Zhang, Dingyong Gou, Yanlin Wu, Cong Li, Xiaohui Cui, Jiajia Liu, Guoyi Xu, Yaoxin Jiang, Yaokun Shi, Jiachen Tu, Liqing Wang, Shihang Li, Bo Zhang, Biao Wang, Haiming Xu, Xiang Long, Xurui Liao, Yanqiao Zhai, Haozhe Li, Shijun Shi, Jiangning Zhang, Yong Liu, Kai Hu, Jing Xu, Xianfang Zeng, Yuyang Liu, Minchen Wei. 2026-04-13. NTIRE 2026 The 3rd Restore Any Image Model (RAIM) Challenge: AI Flash Portrait (Track 3). https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.11230

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