Evaluating fine tuned deep learning models for real-time earthquake damage assessment with drone-based images

Earthquakes pose a significant threat to life and property worldwide. Rapid and accurate assessment of earthquake damage is crucial for effective disaster response efforts. This study investigates the feasibility of employing deep learning models for damage detection using drone imagery. We explore the adaptation of models like VGG16 for object detection through transfer learning and compare their performance to established object detection architectures like YOLOv8 (You Only Look Once) and Detectron2. Our evaluation, based on various metrics including mAP, mAP50, and recall, demonstrates the superior performance of YOLOv8 in detecting damaged buildings within drone imagery, particularly for cases with moderate bounding box overlap. This finding suggests its potential suitability for real-world applications due to the balance between accuracy and efficiency. Furthermore, to enhance real-world feasibility, we explore two strategies for enabling the simultaneous operation of multiple deep learning models for video processing: frame splitting and threading. In addition, we optimize model size and computational complexity to facilitate real-time processing on resource-constrained platforms, such as drones. This work contributes to the field of earthquake damage detection by (1) demonstrating the effectiveness of deep learning models, including adapted architectures, for damage detection from drone imagery, (2) highlighting the importance of evaluation metrics like mAP50 for tasks with moderate bounding box overlap requirements, and (3) proposing methods for ensemble model processing and model optimization to enhance real-world feasibility. The potential for real-time damage assessment using drone-based deep learning models offers significant advantages for disaster response by enabling rapid information gathering to support resource allocation, rescue efforts, and recovery operations in the aftermath of earthquakes.