# Large-Scale Data-Free Knowledge Distillation for ImageNet via Multi-Resolution Data Generation

Source: [Large-Scale Data-Free Knowledge Distillation for ImageNet via Multi-Resolution Data Generation](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa75e31e209131cea6a79a>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2025-10-26T03:43:37.123Z

Authors: Minh-Tuan Tran, Trung Le, Xuan-May Le, Jianfei Cai, Mehrtash Harandi, Dinh Phung

Published: 2024-11-26T02:23:31.000Z

## Abstract

Data-Free Knowledge Distillation (DFKD) is an advanced technique that enables knowledge transfer from a teacher model to a student model without relying on original training data. While DFKD methods have achieved success on smaller datasets like CIFAR10 and CIFAR100, they encounter challenges on larger, high-resolution datasets such as ImageNet. A primary issue with previous approaches is their generation of synthetic images at high resolutions (e.g., $224 \\times 224$) without leveraging information from real images, often resulting in noisy images that lack essential class-specific features in large datasets. Additionally, the computational cost of generating the extensive data needed for effective knowledge transfer can be prohibitive. In this paper, we introduce MUlti-reSolution data-freE (MUSE) to address these limitations. MUSE generates images at lower resolutions while using Class Activation Maps (CAMs) to ensure that the generated images retain critical, class-specific features. To further enhance model diversity, we propose multi-resolution generation and embedding diversity techniques that strengthen latent space representations, leading to significant performance improvements. Experimental results demonstrate that MUSE achieves state-of-the-art performance across both small- and large-scale datasets, with notable performance gains of up to two digits in nearly all ImageNet and subset experiments. Code is available at https://github.com/tmtuan1307/muse.

## Recorded benchmark results

A research result applies to its stated dataset, split, metric and evaluation configuration. Compare like-for-like settings, preserve the metric's unit and direction, and distinguish paper-reported results from independent reproduction. The best result recorded here is not a claim of exhaustive, current global coverage.

## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.17046>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.17046.pdf>)
