A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection

Infrared small target detection holds great potential for various applications, but also faces numerous challenges. Among these, detection algorithms for moving small targets are increasingly gaining attention. Most algorithms focus solely on extracting features from the spatial domain. However, thi...

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Main Authors: Donghui Liu, Wenlong Zhang, Zicheng Feng, Xiaoliang Sun, Rui Zhang, Yang Shang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11113290/
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author Donghui Liu
Wenlong Zhang
Zicheng Feng
Xiaoliang Sun
Rui Zhang
Yang Shang
author_facet Donghui Liu
Wenlong Zhang
Zicheng Feng
Xiaoliang Sun
Rui Zhang
Yang Shang
author_sort Donghui Liu
collection DOAJ
description Infrared small target detection holds great potential for various applications, but also faces numerous challenges. Among these, detection algorithms for moving small targets are increasingly gaining attention. Most algorithms focus solely on extracting features from the spatial domain. However, this approach often leads to suboptimal detection performance. While some methods attempt to incorporate temporal information during detection, nonlearning-based approaches are highly sensitive to noises and require manual parameter adjustments based on the input data. To tackle this problem, this article proposes a novel multiframe network called as a spatio-temporal attention network with multiframe information. This proposed method thinks of the infrared detection of moving small targets as the trajectory classification. First, the candidate targets are extracted by analyzing the spatial information of each image frame. The trajectories formed by candidate targets contain temporal information. The subsequent analysis of the temporal motion and appearance information serves to distinguish the real target from the background interference among the candidate targets. Concurrently, the coordinate attention block is integrated into the model to direct the algorithm to emphasize the local detail features of the target, thereby enhancing the processing capability of the temporal information. The experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can substantially reduce the number of false alarm targets without significantly losing real targets.
format Article
id doaj-art-2aabbeaaafaf43a9af9932153183a623
institution Kabale University
issn 1939-1404
2151-1535
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-2aabbeaaafaf43a9af9932153183a6232025-08-25T23:00:16ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-0118203902040510.1109/JSTARS.2025.359608611113290A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target DetectionDonghui Liu0https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9174-1278Wenlong Zhang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3756-5235Zicheng Feng2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9397-2321Xiaoliang Sun3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3018-8043Rui Zhang4https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2704-6807Yang Shang5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5836-5016College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaInfrared small target detection holds great potential for various applications, but also faces numerous challenges. Among these, detection algorithms for moving small targets are increasingly gaining attention. Most algorithms focus solely on extracting features from the spatial domain. However, this approach often leads to suboptimal detection performance. While some methods attempt to incorporate temporal information during detection, nonlearning-based approaches are highly sensitive to noises and require manual parameter adjustments based on the input data. To tackle this problem, this article proposes a novel multiframe network called as a spatio-temporal attention network with multiframe information. This proposed method thinks of the infrared detection of moving small targets as the trajectory classification. First, the candidate targets are extracted by analyzing the spatial information of each image frame. The trajectories formed by candidate targets contain temporal information. The subsequent analysis of the temporal motion and appearance information serves to distinguish the real target from the background interference among the candidate targets. Concurrently, the coordinate attention block is integrated into the model to direct the algorithm to emphasize the local detail features of the target, thereby enhancing the processing capability of the temporal information. The experimental results on two public datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can substantially reduce the number of false alarm targets without significantly losing real targets.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11113290/Infrared detectionmoving small targetsmultiframetrajectory
spellingShingle Donghui Liu
Wenlong Zhang
Zicheng Feng
Xiaoliang Sun
Rui Zhang
Yang Shang
A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Infrared detection
moving small targets
multiframe
trajectory
title A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection
title_full A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection
title_fullStr A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection
title_full_unstemmed A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection
title_short A Spatio-Temporal Attention Network With Multiframe Information for Infrared Small Target Detection
title_sort spatio temporal attention network with multiframe information for infrared small target detection
topic Infrared detection
moving small targets
multiframe
trajectory
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11113290/
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