Privacy-protected object detection through trustworthy image fusion

The neural network-based technologies have emerged as a potent method for image fusion, object detection, and other computer vision tasks as the rapid development of deep learning. Multi-band infrared images, in particular, capture a more extensive range of radiation details and information compared to conventional single-band infrared images. Consequently, the fusion of multi-band infrared images can provide more features for object detection. However, it is crucial to consider that infrared images may contain sensitive information, potentially leading to privacy concerns. Ensuring datasets privacy protection plays a crucial role in the fusion and tracking process. To address both the need for improved detection performance and the necessity for privacy protection in the infrared environment, we proposed a procedure for object detection based on multi-band infrared image datasets and utilized the transfer learning technique to migrate knowledge learned from external infrared data to internal infrared data, thereby training the infrared image fusion model and detection model. The procedure consists of several steps: (1) data preprocessing of multi-band infrared images, (2) multi-band infrared image fusion, and (3) object detection. Standard evaluation metrics for image fusion and object detection ensure the authenticity of the experiments. The comprehensive validation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed procedure in object detection tasks. Furthermore, the transfer learning can train our datasets and update the model without exposing the original data. This aspect of transfer learning is particularly beneficial for maintaining the privacy of multi-band infrared images during the fusion and detection processes.