Small object detection in diverse application landscapes: a survey

The importance of object detection within computer vision, especially in the context of detecting small objects, has notably increased. This thorough survey extensively examines small object detection across various applications, consolidating and outlining the available methodologies. Traditional papers on small object detection have focused on specific domains. However, this survey paper incorporates insights from a multitude of domains, providing a comprehensive understanding of the versatility and applicability of small object detection techniques. This paper sheds light on the key challenges faced and delves into potential solutions to address the challenges, offering insights into viable solutions to enhance small object detection performance, setting it apart from existing literature. The strategies identified in our survey encompass a spectrum of approaches, categorized as transformer-based, CNN, and traditional methods. Also, this paper collates prevalent datasets relevant to small object detection, simplifying access to these resources. Further, it provides a succinct overview of diverse evaluation metrics used for performance assessment in this field, enhancing understanding of the effectiveness and proficiency of these methods. This survey paper not only consolidates established knowledge but also highlights innovative viewpoints, providing a comprehensive and enlightening compilation that contributes to the advancement of small object detection in the field of computer vision. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.