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Architectures

U-Net

An encoder-decoder image network with skip connections shaped like the letter U.

Definition

U-Net is an encoder-decoder architecture with a contracting path that captures context and a symmetric expanding path that restores resolution for precise, per-pixel output. Skip connections carry high-resolution features straight across the U so detail is not lost in compression. Originally built for biomedical image segmentation, it became a core component of diffusion image generators, where it estimates and removes noise.