An Approach Based on Knowledge Distillation for Lightweight Defect Classification of Green Plums

Abstract

During the cultivation and growth of green plums, various defects frequently occur, potentially affecting their overall quality and economic value. Accurate classification and identification of these defects have become essential components of the harvesting process, particularly when employing smart agricultural equipment. These defects pose significant challenges to the yield and quality of green plums, making their precise detection crucial for ensuring optimal output and economic efficiency. However, most contemporary research on fruit defect classification and grading using artificial intelligence techniques primarily focuses on accuracy, often neglecting the constraints imposed by limited resources. This study addresses the aforementioned challenges by employing knowledge distillation techniques to optimize the performance of a lightweight model. Specifically, during the knowledge distillation process, the vision transformer model, known for its robust recognition capabilities, was selected as the teacher model. The lightweight MobileNetv3 model, chosen for its ease of deployment, served as the student model and was trained using the Lion optimizer. In addition, the dual guidance learning module was designed to enhance knowledge transfer between the teacher and student models, thereby improving the overall capability of the student model. Experimental validation demonstrated that the proposed method excels in the green plum defect recognition task, with the student model, MobileNetv3, achieving an accuracy of 99.17% and exhibiting high performance in key metrics such as precision, recall, and F1-score. Notably, MobileNetv3 not only delivers exceptional performance but also features a low parameter count and computational complexity, facilitating its efficient deployment in practical applications. This study provides an effective and practical solution for the automatic identification and sorting of green plum defects, significantly advancing the development and application of smart agricultural technologies.