# Building Blocks for Robust and Effective Semi-Supervised Real-World Object Detection

Source: [Building Blocks for Robust and Effective Semi-Supervised Real-World Object Detection](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa77921e209131cea74028>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2025-10-26T04:21:39.376Z

Authors: Moussa Kassem Sbeyti, Nadja Klein, Azarm Nowzad, Fikret Sivrikaya, Sahin Albayrak

Published: 2025-03-24T17:15:24.000Z

## Abstract

Semi-supervised object detection (SSOD) based on pseudo-labeling significantly reduces dependence on large labeled datasets by effectively leveraging both labeled and unlabeled data. However, real-world applications of SSOD often face critical challenges, including class imbalance, label noise, and labeling errors. We present an in-depth analysis of SSOD under real-world conditions, uncovering causes of suboptimal pseudo-labeling and key trade-offs between label quality and quantity. Based on our findings, we propose four building blocks that can be seamlessly integrated into an SSOD framework. Rare Class Collage (RCC): a data augmentation method that enhances the representation of rare classes by creating collages of rare objects. Rare Class Focus (RCF): a stratified batch sampling strategy that ensures a more balanced representation of all classes during training. Ground Truth Label Correction (GLC): a label refinement method that identifies and corrects false, missing, and noisy ground truth labels by leveraging the consistency of teacher model predictions. Pseudo-Label Selection (PLS): a selection method for removing low-quality pseudo-labeled images, guided by a novel metric estimating the missing detection rate while accounting for class rarity. We validate our methods through comprehensive experiments on autonomous driving datasets, resulting in up to 6% increase in SSOD performance. Overall, our investigation and novel, data-centric, and broadly applicable building blocks enable robust and effective SSOD in complex, real-world scenarios. Code is available at https://mos-ks.github.io/publications.

## Recorded benchmark results

A research result applies to its stated dataset, split, metric and evaluation configuration. Compare like-for-like settings, preserve the metric's unit and direction, and distinguish paper-reported results from independent reproduction. The best result recorded here is not a claim of exhaustive, current global coverage.

## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.18903>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/2503.18903.pdf>)
