Dual attention-enhanced SSD: A novel deep learning model for object detection

Abstract

Object detection is a fundamental task in computer vision with significant implications across various applications, including autonomous driving, surveillance, and image understanding. The accurate and efficient detection of objects within images is crucial for enabling machines to interpret visual information and make informed decisions. In this paper, we present an enhanced version of the Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) for object detection, leveraging the concept of dual attention mechanisms. Our proposed approach, named SSD-Dual Attention, integrates dual attention layers into the SSD framework. These dual attention layers are strategically positioned between feature maps and prediction convolutions, enhancing the model's ability to capture informative feature representations across a wide range of object scales and backgrounds. Experimental results on the PASCAL VOC 2007 and 2012 datasets validate the effectiveness of our approach. Notably, SSD-Dual Attention achieves an impressive mean Average Precision (mAP) of 78.1%, surpassing the performance of SSD models enhanced with attention mechanisms such as SSD-ECA, SSD-CBAM, SSD-Non-local attention and SSD-SE attention, as well as the original SSD. These results underscore the enhanced accuracy and precision of our object detection system, marking a substantial advancement in the field of computer vision. Code is available at https://github.com/AlexHunterLeo/Dual-attention-Enhanced-SSD-A-Novel-Deep-Learning-Model-for-Object-Detection