GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an indispensable part of electronic products, and their quality is crucial to the operational integrity and functional reliability of these products. Currently, existing PCB defect detection models are beset with issues such as excessive model size and parameter com...

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Main Authors: Xiangqiang Kong, Guangmin Liu, Yanchen Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/10/3052
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author Xiangqiang Kong
Guangmin Liu
Yanchen Gao
author_facet Xiangqiang Kong
Guangmin Liu
Yanchen Gao
author_sort Xiangqiang Kong
collection DOAJ
description Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an indispensable part of electronic products, and their quality is crucial to the operational integrity and functional reliability of these products. Currently, existing PCB defect detection models are beset with issues such as excessive model size and parameter complexity, rendering them ill-equipped to meet the requirements for lightweight deployment on mobile devices. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a lightweight detection model, GESC-YOLO, developed through modifications to the YOLOv8n architecture. First, a new lightweight module, C2f-GE, is designed to replace the C2f module of the backbone network, which effectively reduces the computational parameters, and at the same time increases the number of channels of the feature map to enhance the feature extraction capability of the model. Second, the neck network employs the lightweight hybrid convolution GSConv. By integrating it with the VoV-GSCSP module, the Slim-neck structure is constructed. This approach not only guarantees detection precision but also enables model lightweighting and a reduction in the number of parameters. Finally, the coordinate attention is introduced into the neck network to decompose the channel attention and aggregate the features, which can effectively retain the spatial information and thus improve the detection and localization accuracy of tiny defects (defect area less than 1% of total image area) in PCB defect images. Experimental results demonstrate that, in contrast to the original YOLOv8n model, the GESC-YOLO algorithm boosts the mean Average Precision (mAP) of PCB surface defects by 0.4%, reaching 99%. Simultaneously, the model size is reduced by 25.4%, the parameter count is cut down by 28.6%, and the computational resource consumption is reduced by 26.8%. This successfully achieves the harmonization of detection precision and model lightweighting.
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spelling doaj-art-5fd509fe0f2c4dd29cc0437e93803e352025-08-20T03:47:58ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-05-012510305210.3390/s25103052GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based AlgorithmXiangqiang Kong0Guangmin Liu1Yanchen Gao2School of Railway Transportation, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan 250357, ChinaSchool of Railway Transportation, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan 250357, ChinaQingdao Academy of Intelligent Industries, Qingdao 266100, ChinaPrinted circuit boards (PCBs) are an indispensable part of electronic products, and their quality is crucial to the operational integrity and functional reliability of these products. Currently, existing PCB defect detection models are beset with issues such as excessive model size and parameter complexity, rendering them ill-equipped to meet the requirements for lightweight deployment on mobile devices. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a lightweight detection model, GESC-YOLO, developed through modifications to the YOLOv8n architecture. First, a new lightweight module, C2f-GE, is designed to replace the C2f module of the backbone network, which effectively reduces the computational parameters, and at the same time increases the number of channels of the feature map to enhance the feature extraction capability of the model. Second, the neck network employs the lightweight hybrid convolution GSConv. By integrating it with the VoV-GSCSP module, the Slim-neck structure is constructed. This approach not only guarantees detection precision but also enables model lightweighting and a reduction in the number of parameters. Finally, the coordinate attention is introduced into the neck network to decompose the channel attention and aggregate the features, which can effectively retain the spatial information and thus improve the detection and localization accuracy of tiny defects (defect area less than 1% of total image area) in PCB defect images. Experimental results demonstrate that, in contrast to the original YOLOv8n model, the GESC-YOLO algorithm boosts the mean Average Precision (mAP) of PCB surface defects by 0.4%, reaching 99%. Simultaneously, the model size is reduced by 25.4%, the parameter count is cut down by 28.6%, and the computational resource consumption is reduced by 26.8%. This successfully achieves the harmonization of detection precision and model lightweighting.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/10/3052printed circuit boardslightweight modelcoordinate attentionGSConvGhostdefect detection
spellingShingle Xiangqiang Kong
Guangmin Liu
Yanchen Gao
GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm
Sensors
printed circuit boards
lightweight model
coordinate attention
GSConv
Ghost
defect detection
title GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm
title_full GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm
title_fullStr GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm
title_full_unstemmed GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm
title_short GESC-YOLO: Improved Lightweight Printed Circuit Board Defect Detection Based Algorithm
title_sort gesc yolo improved lightweight printed circuit board defect detection based algorithm
topic printed circuit boards
lightweight model
coordinate attention
GSConv
Ghost
defect detection
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/10/3052
work_keys_str_mv AT xiangqiangkong gescyoloimprovedlightweightprintedcircuitboarddefectdetectionbasedalgorithm
AT guangminliu gescyoloimprovedlightweightprintedcircuitboarddefectdetectionbasedalgorithm
AT yanchengao gescyoloimprovedlightweightprintedcircuitboarddefectdetectionbasedalgorithm