Advances in Deep Learning for Semantic Segmentation of Low-Contrast Images: A Systematic Review of Methods, Challenges, and Future Directions

Abstract

The semantic segmentation (SS) of low-contrast images (LCIs) remains a significant challenge in computer vision, particularly for sensor-driven applications like medical imaging, autonomous navigation, and industrial defect detection, where accurate object delineation is critical. This systematic review develops a comprehensive evaluation of state-of-the-art deep learning (DL) techniques to improve segmentation accuracy in LCI scenarios by addressing key challenges such as diffuse boundaries and regions with similar pixel intensities. It tackles primary challenges, such as diffuse boundaries and regions with similar pixel intensities, which limit conventional methods. Key advancements include attention mechanisms, multi-scale feature extraction, and hybrid architectures combining Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) with Vision Transformers (ViTs), which expand the Effective Receptive Field (ERF), improve feature representation, and optimize information flow. We compare the performance of 25 models, evaluating accuracy (e.g., mean Intersection over Union (mIoU), Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC)), computational efficiency, and robustness across benchmark datasets relevant to automation and robotics. This review identifies limitations, including the scarcity of diverse, annotated LCI datasets and the high computational demands of transformer-based models. Future opportunities emphasize lightweight architectures, advanced data augmentation, integration with multimodal sensor data (e.g., LiDAR, thermal imaging), and ethically transparent AI to build trust in automation systems. This work contributes a practical guide for enhancing LCI segmentation, improving mean accuracy metrics like mIoU by up to 15% in sensor-based applications, as evidenced by benchmark comparisons. It serves as a concise, comprehensive guide for researchers and practitioners advancing DL-based LCI segmentation in real-world sensor applications.