Automatic Fabric Defect Detection Method Using AC-YOLOv5

In the face of detection problems posed by complex textile texture backgrounds, different sizes, and different types of defects, commonly used object detection networks have limitations in handling target sizes. Furthermore, their stability and anti-jamming capabilities are relatively weak. Therefore, when the target types are more diverse, false detections or missed detections are likely to occur. In order to meet the stringent requirements of textile defect detection, we propose a novel AC-YOLOv5-based textile defect detection method. This method fully considers the optical properties, texture distribution, imaging properties, and detection requirements specific to textiles. First, the Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling (ASPP) module is introduced into the YOLOv5 backbone network, and the feature map is pooled using convolution cores with different expansion rates. Multiscale feature information is obtained from feature maps of different receptive fields, which improves the detection of defects of different sizes without changing the resolution of the input image. Secondly, a convolution squeeze-and-excitation (CSE) channel attention module is proposed, and the CSE module is introduced into the YOLOv5 backbone network. The weights of each feature channel are obtained through self-learning to further improve the defect detection and anti-jamming capability. Finally, a large number of fabric images were collected using an inspection system built on a circular knitting machine at an industrial site, and a large number of experiments were conducted using a self-built fabric defect dataset. The experimental results showed that AC-YOLOv5 can achieve an overall detection accuracy of 99.1% for fabric defect datasets, satisfying the requirements for applications in industrial areas.