Vision-Based AI in the Real World: Data, Robustness and Deployment

A special issue of Data (ISSN 2306-5729). This special issue belongs to the section "Information Systems and Data Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2027 | Viewed by 1318

Editors

UCL Institute of Health Informatics, London, UK
Interests: machine learning; generative AI; multimodal AI; knowledge-enhanced AI; AI for healthcare; computer vision; digital health; health informatics

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Guest Editor
College of Information Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China
Interests: pattern recognition; bioinformatics; multi-omics data analysis; image genetics; multimodal brain imaging; neurodegenerative diseases; cancer analysis

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Guest Editor
College of Computer Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610207, China
Interests: computer vision; video analytics; medical imaging; multi-agent systems; open-world learning; concept drift

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Computer Science and Technology, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, China
Interests: artificial intelligence; human–computer interaction; data mining; cognitive computing; machine learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in vision-based artificial intelligence have led to significant progress in visual recognition tasks under controlled settings. However, deploying these models in real-world environments remains challenging due to the complex, dynamic, and often imperfect nature of real-world data. Issues such as data heterogeneity, distribution shift, limited annotations, and long-tail scenarios can significantly degrade model performance outside laboratory conditions.

In response, there is a growing shift toward data-centric approaches, emphasizing the critical role of data quality, curation, and governance in building reliable vision systems. At the same time, robustness and generalization have become central concerns, requiring models that can adapt to unseen conditions and maintain performance across diverse environments. Furthermore, the practical deployment of vision-based AI systems raises additional challenges related to scalability, efficiency, and integration into real-world workflows.

This Special Issue aims to bring together recent advances at the intersection of data-centric AI, robust visual recognition, and real-world deployment. We welcome contributions addressing challenges such as dataset construction and curation, weak and noisy supervision, domain adaptation, multimodal data integration, and real-world evaluation protocols. Applications may span healthcare, industrial inspection, autonomous systems, and other real-world scenarios.

By focusing on the interplay between data, robustness, and deployment, this Special Issue seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical advances and practical, real-world vision systems.

Dr. Daqian Shi
Prof. Dr. Wei Kong
Dr. Yuqi Ouyang
Guest Editors

Dr. Haonan Zhao
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • real-world vision AI
  • data-centric AI
  • robust visual recognition
  • domain generalization
  • out-of-distribution robustness
  • multimodal learning
  • trustworthy AI
  • foundation models
  • vision-language models
  • real-world deployment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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19 pages, 4439 KB  
Article
An Algorithm for Fine-Grained Content Extraction and Understanding in Short Videos
by Yanqi Wan, Shuya Zhang, Yi Xu, Kunfang Zhang, Heyi Wang and Mingzheng Liu
Data 2026, 11(7), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/data11070179 - 20 Jul 2026
Viewed by 267
Abstract
We integrated communication theory with advanced computer vision techniques to propose a novel approach for fine-grained content extraction from short videos. Unlike methods focused on summarization or subtitle generation for longer videos, our approach emphasizes extracting detailed content and understanding the intricate narrative [...] Read more.
We integrated communication theory with advanced computer vision techniques to propose a novel approach for fine-grained content extraction from short videos. Unlike methods focused on summarization or subtitle generation for longer videos, our approach emphasizes extracting detailed content and understanding the intricate narrative structure of short videos. By employing scene segmentation, similarity-based filtering algorithms, and support vector machines, the method identifies keyframes that capture precise visual details. Further, it generates semantically accurate textual descriptions using the mPLUG model, enabling an in-depth understanding of video content. Using a dataset of short videos from the cultural and tourism domain, we validated the proposed method. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach achieves high precision in identifying and understanding detailed visual elements, effectively bridging the gap between visual representation and semantic meaning. Additionally, the study explores the influence of different video content types, interference factors, and image description models on fine-grained content extraction, highlighting its potential for improving intelligent analysis of short-video data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision-Based AI in the Real World: Data, Robustness and Deployment)
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12 pages, 8317 KB  
Data Descriptor
RGB Image Dataset of White Maize Kernels with Visible Quality Defects for Computer Vision-Based Assessment of Mycotoxin Contamination Risk and Grain Quality
by Liston Kiwoli, Devotha Godfrey Nyambo, Bonny Mgawe, Neema Kassim and Mussa Ally
Data 2026, 11(7), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/data11070175 - 13 Jul 2026
Viewed by 351
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major staple crop vulnerable to post-harvest deterioration caused by fungal infection and mycotoxin contamination. Visual defects such as discoloration, breakage, insect damage, and mold growth are commonly associated with reduced grain quality and increased contamination risk. [...] Read more.
Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major staple crop vulnerable to post-harvest deterioration caused by fungal infection and mycotoxin contamination. Visual defects such as discoloration, breakage, insect damage, and mold growth are commonly associated with reduced grain quality and increased contamination risk. This article presents a publicly available RGB image dataset of white maize kernels deposited in Harvard Dataverse for the development of computer vision models for automated grain quality assessment. The dataset contains 5143 high-resolution RGB images acquired using Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A54 smartphone cameras under semi-controlled imaging conditions. Images contain either single or multiple kernels and were annotated at the instance level using the YOLO format, resulting in 13,533 labeled kernel instances. Annotations were assigned by experts experienced in mycotoxin-related grain quality inspection. Labels are based solely on visual surface characteristics and do not represent direct chemical measurements of aflatoxins, fumonisins, or other mycotoxins. The dataset provides a practical resource for developing and evaluating machine learning models for maize kernel defect detection, quality screening, and risk-oriented grain inspection applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision-Based AI in the Real World: Data, Robustness and Deployment)
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20 pages, 10249 KB  
Data Descriptor
UVInsDet: A Ground-Based Robotic Inspection Dataset for Insulator Detection and Instance Segmentation in High-Voltage Substations
by Alexandra I. Khalyasmaa, Pavel V. Matrenin and Irina F. Iumanova
Data 2026, 11(7), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/data11070171 - 9 Jul 2026
Viewed by 337
Abstract
Existing publicly available datasets for insulator recognition primarily focus on overhead transmission lines and are commonly acquired using unmanned aerial vehicles. As a result, they often do not reflect the visual complexity of high-voltage substation environments, which are characterized by dense equipment arrangements, [...] Read more.
Existing publicly available datasets for insulator recognition primarily focus on overhead transmission lines and are commonly acquired using unmanned aerial vehicles. As a result, they often do not reflect the visual complexity of high-voltage substation environments, which are characterized by dense equipment arrangements, structured industrial backgrounds, frequent occlusions, and substantial variation in object scale. To address this gap, we present UVInsDet, a real-world dataset for insulator-string detection and instance segmentation collected during ground-based robotic inspections of an operational 220 kV substation. The dataset comprises 591 visible-spectrum RGB images acquired using a narrow-angle diagnostic inspection camera and contains 1415 manually annotated insulator-string instances represented by pixel-wise segmentation masks. The images cover daytime and nighttime conditions, varying weather scenarios, different viewing angles, and both target-object and negative samples corresponding to realistic inspection workflows. The dataset includes annotations for glass and porcelain insulator strings and provides data in both LabelMe and COCO formats. UVInsDet is intended as a specialized resource for computer vision research in industrial inspection environments. The dataset can support the development and evaluation of object detection and instance segmentation methods, studies of small-object recognition in complex scenes, robustness assessment under varying observation conditions, domain adaptation research, and the development of intelligent monitoring and inspection systems for power infrastructure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision-Based AI in the Real World: Data, Robustness and Deployment)
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