Plant Species Detection Using Image Processing and Deep Learning: A Mobile-Based Application

Conservation of biodiversity requires plant species identification skills, and automatic detection is a challenging and fascinating task for both computer/data scientists and botanists alike. This chapter describes a deep learning Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), which is trained to perform mobile imagery classification on plant species found throughout Ireland. The dataset of plant-classified RGB images underwent significant pre-processing, particularly in relation to background removal and data augmentation. Several models of deep learning CNN, with varying amounts of layers and training methods, have been evaluated on this dataset. Several deep learning models were trained and evaluated to document the speed and robustness of the flora identification. The highest performing model was then embedded in a web application, creating an online system to allow for new plant images to be uploaded and classified. This chapter highlights the main research challenges associated with this work, concludes with a mobile-based application, and discusses future research.