Image Inpainting Methods: A Review of Deep Learning Approaches

Image inpainting, a pivotal technology for restoring damaged regions of images, has emerged as a significant research focus in computer vision. This review systematically surveys recent advances in deep learning-based image inpainting. We begin by categorizing prevailing methods into three groups based on their core architectures: Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Generative Models, and Transformers. Through a comparative analysis of their symmetric versus asymmetric network architectures, applicable scenarios, and performance bottlenecks, we provide a critical discussion of the strengths and limitations inherent to each approach. The evolution of underlying design principles, such as symmetry, and the corresponding solutions to core challenges are also discussed. Furthermore, we introduce key benchmark datasets and commonly used image quality assessment metrics, offering a multidimensional framework for evaluation. We highlight that mainstream datasets collectively foster a greenhouse-like evaluation environment detached from real-world complexities and that existing metrics are critically misaligned with the fundamental objective of inpainting: generating plausible new content. Finally, we summarize the prevailing challenges in current deep learning-based inpainting research and outline promising future directions. We highlight critical issues, such as enhancing restoration quality, reducing computational costs, and broadening application scenarios, thereby providing valuable insights for subsequent research.