BiKD-Yolo: A Small Object Detection Algorithm from UAV Perspective Based on BiFormer Attention and Knowledge Distillation

Object detection is crucial for the real-time operations of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly in identifying small objects within UAV imagery. While existing computer vision techniques have shown success in UAV applications, detecting small objects remains challenging due to limited information, small size, and low resolution. This study presents the BiKD-YOLO approach, which combines BiFormer attention and knowledge distillation to enhance both the precision and efficiency of small object detection. We employ SAHI (Slice-Assisted Hyper-Inference) cropping to enlarge small objects in images, followed by knowledge distillation for model compression, facilitating knowledge transfer from larger to smaller models for streamlined operation. Through the incorporation of the BiFormer attention mechanism, the detection process is further refined by focusing on critical regions of interest, thereby improving overall accuracy. Experimental Results from tests on the VisDrone dataset show that BiKD-Yolo greatly surpasses the baseline, delivering superior performance in detection accuracy, mAP, and AP metrics. In summary, the BiKD-Yolo method presents a novel and effective solution for improving small object detection in UAV images, offering enhanced accuracy and speed.