# HiProto: Hierarchical Prototype Learning for Interpretable Object Detection Under Low-quality Conditions Source: [HiProto: Hierarchical Prototype Learning for Interpretable Object Detection Under Low-quality Conditions]() Collection index: [llms.txt]() Data updated: 2026-04-17T05:00:13.532Z Authors: Jianlin Xiang, Linhui Dai, Xue Yang, Chaolei Yang, Yanshan Li Published: 2026-04-15T15:26:21.000Z ## Abstract Interpretability is essential for deploying object detection systems in critical applications, especially under low-quality imaging conditions that degrade visual information and increase prediction uncertainty. Existing methods either enhance image quality or design complex architectures, but often lack interpretability and fail to improve semantic discrimination. In contrast, prototype learning enables interpretable modeling by associating features with class-centered semantics, which can provide more stable and interpretable representations under degradation. Motivated by this, we propose HiProto, a new paradigm for interpretable object detection based on hierarchical prototype learning. By constructing structured prototype representations across multiple feature levels, HiProto effectively models class-specific semantics, thereby enhancing both semantic discrimination and interpretability. Building upon prototype modeling, we first propose a Region-to-Prototype Contrastive Loss (RPC-Loss) to enhance the semantic focus of prototypes on target regions. Then, we propose a Prototype Regularization Loss (PR-Loss) to improve the distinctiveness among class prototypes. Finally, we propose a Scale-aware Pseudo Label Generation Strategy (SPLGS) to suppress mismatched supervision for RPC-Loss, thereby preserving the robustness of low-level prototype representations. Experiments on ExDark, RTTS, and VOC2012-FOG demonstrate that HiProto achieves competitive results while offering clear interpretability through prototype responses, without relying on image enhancement or complex architectures. Our code will be available at https://github.com/xjlDestiny/HiProto.git. ## 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]() [PDF]()