Small object detection method with k-detector for metal parts surface defect detection

Abstract

In the process of its development, intelligent manufacturing often focuses on production flexibility, client customization, and quality control, all of which are required for the manufacture of powder-based metallurgy. In particular, the identification and categorization of defects are crucial steps in the production processes involved in powder-based metallurgy. Intelligent strategies to detect faults in metal parts continue to be a challenge in automated industrial production lines. These techniques have been a particular concern for microscopic metal component producers for a long time. Due to its precision and speed, the YOLOv4 approach has been widely used for object detection. On the other hand, the identification of tiny targets, particularly imperfections on the surface of metal parts, continues to present a number of obstacles and difficulties. To increase the overall performance of detection, this research provided a technique for the detection of tiny objects based on YOLOv4 for such objects. To increase the effectiveness of the detection process, this involves expanding the size of the k detector while simultaneously eliminating unnecessary branches of the YOLO head network. Experiments have shown that the KD-YOLO model performs better than its predecessors, YOLOv4, YOLOv5, and PP-YOLO, in terms of the total number of parameters, classification accuracy and detection precision. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.