Arithmetic mean filter

Arithmetic mean filter is commonly used for noise reduction. The filter computes the value of each output pixel by finding the statistical mean of the neighborhood of the corresponding input pixel (Fig. A).

Figure A: Principle of arithmetic mean filtering using a rectangular moving window to define a neighborhood

Mean filter using OTB

Does currently not work in OTB plugin for QGIS 3.4. Use OTB standalone.

• In the search engine of the Processing Toolbox, type Smoothing and select Smoothing(mean) under Image Filtering of the Orfeo Toolbox.
• Under the Parameters tab, select a single band or a multiband file as input layer.
• Select mean from the drop-down list as Smoothing Type.
• Adjust the Radius of a circular element in pixel size.

Figure B: Input image: pansharpend Sentinel-2 composite (RGB=B7,B6,B5) of campus north, University Göttingen

Figure C: Output image: mean filtered Sentinel-2 composite (RGB=B7,B6,B5) of campus north, University Göttingen