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Targeted Improvement of a Deep Learning Object Detector Using Synthetic Training Data

Palmkvist, Katja LU and Mattsson, Olivia LU (2022) In Master's Theses in Mathematical Sciences FMSM01 20221
Mathematical Statistics
Abstract
When working with object detection, the quality and quantity of the training data is often a recurrent bottleneck. This thesis proposes a technique of incrementally improving an object detector using synthetically rendered data. The current training data within the field of focus is limited, and creating new data comes with significant integrity and security risks. By creating synthetic images where rendered people are placed in different adapted environments, the possibility of performing a targeted improvement of an object detector was examined.

First, the detection errors of an object detection model, trained on real data, were explored to identify weaknesses to target. Next, one of the found weaknesses was used to determine the... (More)
When working with object detection, the quality and quantity of the training data is often a recurrent bottleneck. This thesis proposes a technique of incrementally improving an object detector using synthetically rendered data. The current training data within the field of focus is limited, and creating new data comes with significant integrity and security risks. By creating synthetic images where rendered people are placed in different adapted environments, the possibility of performing a targeted improvement of an object detector was examined.

First, the detection errors of an object detection model, trained on real data, were explored to identify weaknesses to target. Next, one of the found weaknesses was used to determine the content of the synthetic data. Furthermore, the synthetic data was generated, resulting in multiple datasets. Domain randomization techniques were used to optimize the data quality, and 3D graphics tools were used to generate bounding boxes. New models were then trained on a mix of real and synthetic data.

Finally, the best synthetic model was extracted, and another detailed evaluation was performed. The results showed that the new model, trained on additional synthetic data, did not suffer any unwanted side effects in its predictions. In addition, the ratio between the real and synthetic training data was examined, showing that using twice the amount of real data compared to synthetic provided the best results. The performance of the synthetic model improved compared to the initial model, trained solely on real data, for three different test datasets. The detailed evaluation showed that the number of detection errors for the targeted weakness decreased significantly. In conclusion, the results showed great promise in using synthetically rendered image data combined with real data to improve an object detection model. (Less)
Popular Abstract
When developing an object detector, the biggest issue is the amount of training data needed. In our thesis, we proposed the possibility of solving this issue using synthetic images, automatically rendered by a computer. Furthermore, creating custom images also comes with the opportunity to target a specific weakness of the model to improve.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Palmkvist, Katja LU and Mattsson, Olivia LU
supervisor
organization
course
FMSM01 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Object Detection, Computer Vision, Synthetic Data, 3D-rendering
publication/series
Master's Theses in Mathematical Sciences
report number
LUTFMS-3447-2022
ISSN
1404-6342
other publication id
2022:E44
language
English
id
9088938
date added to LUP
2022-06-27 09:29:49
date last changed
2022-07-20 13:15:09
@misc{9088938,
  abstract     = {{When working with object detection, the quality and quantity of the training data is often a recurrent bottleneck. This thesis proposes a technique of incrementally improving an object detector using synthetically rendered data. The current training data within the field of focus is limited, and creating new data comes with significant integrity and security risks. By creating synthetic images where rendered people are placed in different adapted environments, the possibility of performing a targeted improvement of an object detector was examined.

First, the detection errors of an object detection model, trained on real data, were explored to identify weaknesses to target. Next, one of the found weaknesses was used to determine the content of the synthetic data. Furthermore, the synthetic data was generated, resulting in multiple datasets. Domain randomization techniques were used to optimize the data quality, and 3D graphics tools were used to generate bounding boxes. New models were then trained on a mix of real and synthetic data.

Finally, the best synthetic model was extracted, and another detailed evaluation was performed. The results showed that the new model, trained on additional synthetic data, did not suffer any unwanted side effects in its predictions. In addition, the ratio between the real and synthetic training data was examined, showing that using twice the amount of real data compared to synthetic provided the best results. The performance of the synthetic model improved compared to the initial model, trained solely on real data, for three different test datasets. The detailed evaluation showed that the number of detection errors for the targeted weakness decreased significantly. In conclusion, the results showed great promise in using synthetically rendered image data combined with real data to improve an object detection model.}},
  author       = {{Palmkvist, Katja and Mattsson, Olivia}},
  issn         = {{1404-6342}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Master's Theses in Mathematical Sciences}},
  title        = {{Targeted Improvement of a Deep Learning Object Detector Using Synthetic Training Data}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}