AquaPile-YOLO: Pioneering Underwater Pile Foundation Detection with Forward-Looking Sonar Image Processing

Underwater pile foundation detection is crucial for environmental monitoring and marine engineering. Traditional methods for detecting underwater pile foundations are labor-intensive and inefficient. Deep learning-based image processing has revolutionized detection, enabling identification through sonar imagery analysis. This study proposes an innovative methodology, named the AquaPile-YOLO algorithm, for underwater pile foundation detection. Our approach significantly enhances detection accuracy and robustness by integrating multi-scale feature fusion, improved attention mechanisms, and advanced data augmentation techniques. Trained on 4000 sonar images, the model excels in delineating pile structures and effectively identifying underwater targets. Experimental data show that the model can achieve good target identification results in similar experimental scenarios, with a 96.89% accuracy rate for underwater target recognition.