What is Object Detection in Computer Vision?
Last Updated : 12 Jun, 2024
Now day Object Detection is very important for Computer vision domains, this
concept(Object Detection) identifies and locates objects in images or videos.
Object detection finds extensive applications across various sectors. The article
aims to understand the fundamentals, of working, techniques, and applications
of object detection.
What is Object Detection?
In this article we are going to explore object detection with basic a , how its
works and technique.
Table of Content
Understanding Object Detection
How Object Detection works?
Techniques in Object Detection
Traditional Computer Vision Techniques for Object Detection
Deep Learning Methods for Object Detection
Two-Stage Detectors for Object Detection
1. R-CNN (Regions with Convolutional Neural Networks)
2. Fast R-CNN
3. Faster R-CNN
Single-Stage Detectors for Object Detection
1. SSD (Single Shot MultiBox Detector)
2. YOLO (You Only Look Once)
Applications of Object Detection
FAQs on Object Detection
Understanding Object Detection
Object detection primarily aims to answer two critical questions about any
image: "Which objects are present?" and "Where are these objects situated?"
This process involves both object classification and localization:
Classification: This step determines the category or type of one or more
objects within the image, such as a dog, car, or tree.
Localization: This involves accurately identifying and marking the position of
an object in the image, typically using a bounding box to outline its location.
Python for Machine Learning Machine Learning with R Machine Learning Algorithms EDA Math for Machine Lea
Key Components of Object Detection
1. Image Classification
Image classification assigns a label to an entire image based on its content.
While it's a crucial step in understanding visual data, it doesn't provide
information about the object's location within the image.
2. Object Localization
Object localization goes a step further by not only identifying the object but
also determining its position within the image. This involves drawing bounding
boxes around the objects.
3. Object Detection
Object detection merges image classification and localization. It detects
multiple objects in an image, assigns labels to them, and provides their
locations through bounding boxes.
How Object Detection works?
The general working of object detection is:
1. Input Image: the object detection process begins with image or video
analysis.
2. Pre-processing: image is pre-processed to ensure suitable format for the
model being used.
3. Feature Extraction: CNN model is used as feature extractor, the model is
responsible for dissecting the image into regions and pulling out features
from each region to detect patterns of different objects.
4. Classification: Each image region is classified into categories based on the
extracted features. The classification task is performed using SVM or other
neural network that computes the probability of each category present in
the region.
5. Localization: Simultaneously with the classification process, the model
determines the bounding boxes for each detected object. This involves
calculating the coordinates for a box that encloses each object, thereby
accurately locating it within the image.
6. Non-max Suppression: When the model identifies several bounding boxes
for the same object, non-max suppression is used to handle these overlaps.
This technique keeps only the bounding box with the highest confidence
score and removes any other overlapping boxes.
7. Output: The process ends with the original image being marked with
bounding boxes and labels that illustrate the detected objects and their
corresponding categories.
Techniques in Object Detection
Traditional Computer Vision Techniques for Object Detection
Traditionally, the task of object detection relied on manual feature extraction
and classification. Some of the tradition methods are:
1. Haar Cascades
2. Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG)
3. SIFT (Scale-Invariant Feature Transform)
Deep Learning Methods for Object Detection
Deep learning played an important role in revolutionizing the computer vision
field. There two primary types of object detection methods:
Two-Stage Detectors: These detectors work in two stages: first, they will
propose candidate region and then classify the region into categories. Some
of the two stage detectors are R-CNN, Fast R-CNN and Faster R-CNN.
Single-stage Detectors: In a single pass, these detectors accurately forecast
the bounding boxes and class probabilities for every area of the picture.
YOLO (You Only Look Once) and SSD (Single Shot MultiBox Detector) are
two examples.
Two-Stage Detectors for Object Detection
There are three popular two-stage object detection techniques:
1. R-CNN (Regions with Convolutional Neural Networks)
This technique uses selective search algorithm to generate 2000 region
proposals from an image, then the proposed region is resized and passed
through pre-trained CNN based models to extract feature vectors. Then, these
feature vectors are fed to the classifier for classifying object within the region.
2. Fast R-CNN
This techniques processes the complete image with the CNN to produce a
feature map. Region of Interest Pooling layers is used to extract the feature
vector from the feature map. The techniques utilizes integrated classification
and regression approach, it use uses a single fully connected network to
provide the output for both the class probabilities and bounding box
coordinates.
3. Faster R-CNN
This technique utilizes Region Proposal Network (RPN) that predicts the object
bounds from the feature maps created by the initial CNN then, the features of
the proposed region generated by RPM are pooled using ROI Pooling and fed
into a network that predict the class and bounding box.
Single-Stage Detectors for Object Detection
Single-stage detectors focuses on merging the object localization and
classification tasks into single pass through neural network. There are two
popular models for single-stage object detection:
1. SSD (Single Shot MultiBox Detector)
Using feature maps at various sizes, SSD (Single Shot MultiBox Detector) is a
one-stage object detection architecture that predicts item bounding boxes and
class probabilities immediately. It is quicker and more effective than two-stage
methods as it makes use of a single deep neural network to do both object
identification and area proposal at the same time.
2. YOLO (You Only Look Once)
YOLO, or "You Only Look Once," is an additional one-stage object identification
architecture that uses whole photos to forecast class probabilities and
bounding boxes in a single run. It provides very accurate object recognition in
real time by dividing the input picture into a grid and predicting bounding
boxes and class probabilities for each grid cell. The process is discussed below:
Detection in a single step: YOLO formulates the issue of object detection as
a regression and uses a single network assessment to forecast both class
probabilities and bounding box coordinates.
Grid-based Detection: An input picture is split into grid cells, and for each
item included in a grid cell, bounding boxes and class probabilities are
predicted.
Applications of Object Detection
Object detection plays a pivotal role in various industries, driving innovation
and enhancing functionality. Here, we explore the applications of object
detection with specific examples to illustrate its impact.
1. Autonomous Vehicles
Object detection is crucial for the safe operation of autonomous vehicles,
allowing them to perceive their surroundings, detect pedestrians, other
vehicles, and obstacles, and make real-time decisions to ensure safe
navigation.
Examples:
Tesla Autopilot: Tesla's Autopilot system uses object detection to identify
and track vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and road signs, enabling features
like automatic lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control, and collision avoidance.
Waymo: Waymo's self-driving cars utilize advanced object detection
algorithms to interpret data from LIDAR, cameras, and radar sensors to
navigate complex urban environments, recognize traffic signals, and avoid
potential hazards.
2. Security and Surveillance
Object detection enhances security systems by enabling the identification of
suspicious activities, intruders, and overall surveillance efficiency.
Examples:
Smart Surveillance Cameras: Modern surveillance systems, such as those
by Hikvision, incorporate object detection to automatically identify and track
moving objects, differentiate between humans and animals, and alert
security personnel to potential threats.
Facial Recognition Systems: Systems like those used in airports and border
control utilize object detection to recognize faces, compare them against
databases, and identify individuals for security screening.
3. Healthcare
Object detection assists in medical imaging, helping to detect abnormalities
such as tumors in X-rays and MRIs, thus contributing to accurate and timely
diagnoses.
Examples:
Breast Cancer Detection: AI-based tools like those developed by Zebra
Medical Vision use object detection to analyze mammograms, identifying
potential tumors and aiding radiologists in early breast cancer detection.
Lung Disease Detection: Solutions like Google's DeepMind use object
detection to analyze chest X-rays for signs of pneumonia and other lung
diseases, providing reliable second opinions to radiologists.
4. Retail
In retail, object detection automates inventory management, prevents theft,
and analyzes customer behavior, enhancing operational efficiency and
customer experience.
Examples:
Amazon Go Stores: Amazon Go stores utilize object detection to identify
products taken from or returned to shelves, enabling a cashier-less checkout
experience by automatically billing customers for the items they take.
Inventory Management Systems: Systems like Trax use object detection to
monitor shelf stock levels in real-time, helping retailers ensure products are
always available and optimizing inventory management.
5. Robotics
Object detection enables robots to interact with their environment, recognize
objects, and perform tasks autonomously, significantly enhancing their
functionality.
Examples:
Warehouse Robots: Robots used by companies like Amazon and Ocado
employ object detection to navigate warehouse floors, identify and pick
items, and place them in appropriate locations, streamlining the fulfillment
process.
Service Robots: Service robots, such as SoftBank's Pepper, use object
detection to recognize and interact with people, understand their actions,
and provide assistance in environments like hospitals, airports, and retail
stores.
Future Trends in Object Detection
Advanced Deep Learning Architectures: The development of more
sophisticated neural network architectures promises improved accuracy and
efficiency in object detection.
Edge Computing: Edge computing enables real-time object detection by
processing data locally on devices rather than relying on cloud computing.
Self-supervised Learning: Self-supervised learning techniques aim to
reduce the reliance on annotated data, making model training more scalable
and efficient.
Integration with Other Technologies: Object detection will increasingly
integrate with technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR),
and the Internet of Things (IoT) to create more immersive and intelligent
systems.
Also check the following object detection projects:
Detect an object with OpenCV-Python
Object Detection by YOLO using Tensorflow
YOLOV5 : Object Tracker In Videos
Conclusion
Transportation, security, retail, and healthcare are just a few of the industries
that have benefited greatly from developments in object detection, which is
essential to a machine's ability to receive and analyze visual input. Researchers
and practitioners are continuously pushing the limits of object detection by
using cutting-edge structures and approaches, which open up new avenues for
intelligent automation and decision-making.
FAQs on Object Detection
What distinguishes object recognition from picture classification?
While image classification gives an image a single label, object detection
locates and identifies many things in an image.
What obstacles does object detection face?
