PSMDet: Enhancing Detection Accuracy in Remote Sensing Images Through Self-Modulation and Gaussian-Based Regression

Conventional object detection methods face challenges in addressing the complexity of targets in optical remote sensing images (ORSIs), including multi-scale objects, high aspect ratios, and arbitrary orientations. This study proposes a novel detection framework called Progressive Self-Modulating Detector (PSMDet), which incorporates self-modulation mechanisms at the backbone, feature pyramid network (FPN), and detection head stages to address these issues. The backbone network utilizes a reparameterized large kernel network (RLK-Net) to enhance multi-scale feature extraction. At the same time, the adaptive perception network (APN) achieves accurate feature alignment through a self-attention mechanism. Additionally, a Gaussian-based bounding box representation and smooth relative entropy (smoothRE) regression loss are introduced to address traditional bounding box regression challenges, such as discontinuities and inconsistencies. Experimental validation on the HRSC2016 and UCAS-AOD datasets demonstrates the framework's robust performance, achieving the mean Average Precision (mAP) scores of 90.69% and 89.86%, respectively. Although validated on ORSIs, the proposed framework is adaptable for broader applications, such as autonomous driving in intelligent transportation systems and defect detection in industrial vision, where high-precision object detection is essential. These contributions provide theoretical and technical support for advancing intelligent image sensor-based applications across multiple domains.