Reparameterized underwater object detection network improved by cone-rod cell module and WIOU loss

To overcome the challenges in underwater object detection across diverse marine environments—marked by intricate lighting, small object presence, and camouflage—we propose an innovative solution inspired by the human retina's structure. This approach integrates a cone-rod cell module to counteract complex lighting effects and introduces a reparameterized multiscale module for precise small object feature extraction. Moreover, we employ the Wise Intersection Over Union (WIOU) technique to enhance camouflage detection. Our methodology simulates the human eye's cone and rod cells' brightness and color perception using varying sizes of deep and ordinary convolutional kernels. We further augment the network's learning capability and maintain model lightness through structural reparameterization, incorporating multi-branching and multiscale modules. By substituting the Complete Intersection Over Union (CIOU) with WIOU, we increase penalties for low-quality samples, mitigating the effect of camouflaged information on detection. Our model achieved a MAP_0.75 of 72.5% on the Real-World Underwater Object Detection (RUOD) dataset, surpassing the leading YOLOv8s model by 5.8%. Additionally, the model's FLOPs and parameters amount to only 10.62 M and 4.62B, respectively, which are lower than most benchmark models. The experimental outcomes affirm our design's efficacy in addressing underwater object detection's various disturbances, offering valuable technical insights for related oceanic image processing challenges.