Comparative Performance of Object Detection Algorithms Under Low Illumination Conditions

Real-time object detection is pivotal in various computer vision and robotics applications, such as security surveillance, autonomous navigation, and interactive systems. This study evaluates several object detection algorithms under low illumination conditions, comparing traditional methods including SIFT, SURF, ORB, BRISK, KAZE, and AKAZE with the deep learning model YOLOv5. To simulate these conditions, we utilized the COCO dataset and implemented a sequence of preprocessing procedures, such as adjusting the gamma correction throughout the dataset, introducing Gaussian noise, and equalizing the histogram to improve image contrast. Here, YOLOv5 exhibited superior performance, achieving a detection accuracy of 92.47% and a processing time of 45 milliseconds per image. Traditional algorithms like SURF and KAZE, although slower, demonstrated precision rates of 78.54% and 76.86%, respectively. YOLOv5 also identified the highest number of key points and matches. Our findings indicate that while YOLOv5 excels in real-time detection under low-light conditions, traditional methods are effective for specific tasks in resource-constrained environments. This study benchmarks these algorithms and proposes a hybrid approach to enhance real-time object detection systems under low illumination conditions.