Detection of Road Risk Sources Based on Multi-Scale Lightweight Networks.

Timely discovery and disposal of road risk sources constitute the cornerstone of road operation safety. Presently, the detection of road risk sources frequently relies on manual inspections via inspection vehicles, a process that is both inefficient and time-consuming. To tackle this challenge, this paper introduces a novel automated approach for detecting road risk sources, termed the multi-scale lightweight network (MSLN). This method primarily focuses on identifying road surfaces, potholes, and scattered objects. To mitigate the influence of real-world factors such as noise and uneven brightness on test results, pavement images were carefully collected. Initially, the collected images underwent grayscale processing. Subsequently, the median filtering algorithm was employed to filter out noise interference. Furthermore, adaptive histogram equalization techniques were utilized to enhance the visibility of cracks and the road background. Following these preprocessing steps, the MSLN model was deployed for the detection of road risk sources. Addressing the challenges associated with two-stage network models, such as prolonged training and testing times, as well as deployment difficulties, this study adopted the lightweight feature extraction network MobileNetV2. Additionally, transfer learning was incorporated to elevate the model's training efficiency. Moreover, this paper established a mapping relationship model that transitions from the world coordinate system to the pixel coordinate system. This model enables the calculation of risk source dimensions based on detection outcomes. Experimental results reveal that the MSLN model exhibits a notably faster convergence rate. This enhanced convergence not only boosts training speed but also elevates the precision of risk source detection. Furthermore, the proposed mapping relationship coordinate transformation model proves highly effective in determining the scale of risk sources.