Beyond Anchors: The Power of Anchor-Free Object Detection
Breaking Free: The Rise of Anchor-Free Object Detection Object detection, the ability for machines to identify and locate objects within images or videos, has become a cornerstone of modern AI. For years, anchor-based methods reigned supreme, relying on pre-defined boxes (anchors) to predict object locations and sizes. But a new wave of anchor-free detectors is challenging the status quo, offering compelling advantages that are reshaping the landscape of computer vision. What's Wrong with Anchors? Anchor-based methods, while effective, suffer from several limitations: Greedy Nature: The reliance on pre-defined anchors can lead to a "greedy" selection process, favoring anchors that best match the ground truth even if they don't perfectly capture the object's shape or size. This can result in inaccurate...