Implementation and Efficient Analysis of Preprocessing Techniques in Deep Learning for Image Classification

Background: Deep learning models have recently been preferred to perform certain image-processing tasks. Recently, with the increasing radiation, heat, and poor lighting conditions, the raw image samples may contain noisy and ambiguous information.Objective: To process these images, the deep learning model requires a large number of data samples to learn the missing information from other clear data samples. This necessitates training the neural network with a huge dataset.Methods: The researchers are now attempting to filter and improve such noisy images via preprocessing in order to provide valid and accurate feature information to the neural network layers. However, certain research studies claim that some useful information may be lost when the image is not preprocessed with an appropriate filter or enhancement technique. The MSA (meta-synthesis and analysis) approach is utilized in this work to present the impact of the image processing applications done with and without preprocessing steps. Also, this work summarizes the existing deep learning-based image processing models utilizing or not preprocessing steps in their implementation.Results: This work has also found that 85% of the existing techniques involve a preprocessing step while developing a deep learning model. However, a maximum accuracy of 96.89% is observed on Sine-Net when it is implemented without a preprocessing and the same model gave 96.85% when implemented with preprocessing.Conclusion: This research provides various research insights on the requirement and non-requirement of preprocessing steps in a deep learning-based implementation.