journal article·2024-07-21Open access

Custom Anchorless Object Detection Model for 3D Synthetic Traffic Sign Board Dataset with Depth Estimation and Text Character Extraction

Rahul Soans, Yohei Fukumizu

Applied Sciences· Volume 14· Issue 14

Abstract

This paper introduces an anchorless deep learning model designed for efficient analysis and processing of large-scale 3D synthetic traffic sign board datasets. With an ever-increasing emphasis on autonomous driving systems and their reliance on precise environmental perception, the ability to accurately interpret traffic sign information is crucial. Our model seamlessly integrates object detection, depth estimation, deformable parts, and text character extraction functionalities, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of road signs in simulated environments that mimic the real world. The dataset used has a large number of artificially generated traffic signs for 183 different classes. The signs include place names in Japanese and English, expressway names in Japanese and English, distances and motorway numbers, and direction arrow marks with different lighting, occlusion, viewing angles, camera distortion, day and night cycles, and bad weather like rain, snow, and fog. This was done so that the model could be tested thoroughly in a wide range of difficult conditions. We developed a convolutional neural network with a modified lightweight hourglass backbone using depthwise spatial and pointwise convolutions, along with spatial and channel attention modules that produce resilient feature maps. We conducted experiments to benchmark our model against the baseline model, showing improved accuracy and efficiency in both depth estimation and text extraction tasks, crucial for real-time applications in autonomous navigation systems. With its model efficiency and partwise decoded predictions, along with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), our approach suggests its potential as a valuable tool for developers of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technologies, and transportation safety applications, ensuring reliable navigation solutions.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Neural Network Applications · Vehicle License Plate Recognition · Infrastructure Maintenance and Monitoring

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu 525-8577, Japan

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