Automatic estimation of deterioration level on transmission towers via deep extreme learning machine based on local receptive field

This paper presents an automatic estimation method of deterioration levels on transmission towers via Deep Extreme Learning Machine based on Local Receptive Field (DELM-LRF). Although Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) requires a large number of training images, it is difficult to prepare a sufficient number of training images of transmission towers. Thus, we generate a novel estimation method which enables training from a small number of training images. Specifically, we automatically extract image features based on Local Receptive Field (LRF) which combines convolution and pooling without using hand-craft features and estimate deterioration levels via Deep Extreme Learning Machine (DELM), which is a part of efficient deep learning methods. The derivation of DELM-LRF is the biggest contribution of this paper, and it can be trained from less training images compared to CNN. Experimental results show the effectiveness of DELM-LRF for the estimation of deterioration levels on transmission towers. Consequently, the proposed method makes it possible to approach challenging tasks with high expertise having difficulty in preparing enough images.