Real-Time Detection and Location of Potted Flowers Based on a ZED Camera and a YOLO V4-Tiny Deep Learning Algorithm

• Published in: Horticulturae
• Main Authors: Jizhang Wang, Zhiheng Gao, Yun Zhang, Jing Zhou, Jianzhi Wu, Pingping Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-12-01
• Subjects: potted flower; ZED 2 stereo camera; detection; location; YOLO V4-Tiny; deep learning
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/1/21

In order to realize the real-time and accurate detection of potted flowers on benches, in this paper we propose a method based on the ZED 2 stereo camera and the YOLO V4-Tiny deep learning algorithm for potted flower detection and location. First, an automatic detection model of flowers was established based on the YOLO V4-Tiny convolutional neural network (CNN) model, and the center points on the pixel plane of the flowers were obtained according to the prediction box. Then, the real-time 3D point cloud information obtained by the ZED 2 camera was used to calculate the actual position of the flowers. The test results showed that the mean average precision (MAP) and recall rate of the training model was 89.72% and 80%, respectively, and the real-time average detection frame rate of the model deployed under Jetson TX2 was 16 FPS. The results of the occlusion experiment showed that when the canopy overlap ratio between the two flowers is more than 10%, the recognition accuracy will be affected. The mean absolute error of the flower center location based on 3D point cloud information of the ZED 2 camera was 18.1 mm, and the maximum locating error of the flower center was 25.8 mm under different light radiation conditions. The method in this paper establishes the relationship between the detection target of flowers and the actual spatial location, which has reference significance for the machinery and automatic management of potted flowers on benches.