# SWNet: A Cross-Spectral Network for Camouflaged Weed Detection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.16147 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.16147/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 14 of its 30 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 17 Apr 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [EfficientNet: Rethinking Model Scaling for Convolutional Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.11946/) (2019)
- [PVT v2: Improved Baselines with Pyramid Vision Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.13797/) (2021)
- [Res2Net: A New Multi-scale Backbone Architecture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.01169/) (2019)
- [Concealed Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.10274/) (2021)
- [Zoom In and Out: A Mixed-scale Triplet Network for Camouflaged Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.02688/) (2022)
- [Context-aware Cross-level Fusion Network for Camouflaged Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.12555/) (2021)
- [High-resolution Iterative Feedback Network for Camouflaged Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.11624/) (2022)
- [Deep Gradient Learning for Efficient Camouflaged Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.12853/) (2022)
- [Scale-Aware Modulation Meet Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08579/) (2023)
- [Camouflaged Object Detection via Context-aware Cross-level Fusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.13362/) (2022)
- [Edge-Aware Mirror Network for Camouflaged Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.03932/) (2023)
- [deepNIR: Datasets for generating synthetic NIR images and improved fruit detection system using deep learning techniques](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.09091/) (2022)
- [Assisted Refinement Network Based on Channel Information Interaction for Camouflaged and Salient Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.11369/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper presents SWNet, a bimodal end-to-end cross-spectral network specifically engineered for the detection of camouflaged weeds in dense agricultural environments. Plant camouflage, characterized by homochromatic blending where invasive species mimic the phenotypic traits of primary crops, poses a significant challenge for traditional computer vision systems. To overcome these limitations, SWNet utilizes a Pyramid Vision Transformer v2 backbone to capture long-range dependencies and a Bimodal Gated Fusion Module to dynamically integrate Visible and Near-Infrared information. By leveraging the physiological differences in chlorophyll reflectance captured in the NIR spectrum, the proposed architecture effectively discriminates targets that are otherwise indistinguishable in the visible range. Furthermore, an Edge-Aware Refinement module is employed to produce sharper object boundaries and reduce structural ambiguity. Experimental results on the Weeds-Banana dataset indicate that SWNet outperforms ten state-of-the-art methods. The study demonstrates that the integration of cross-spectral data and boundary-guided refinement is essential for high segmentation accuracy in complex crop canopies. The code is available on GitHub: https://cod-espol.github.io/SWNet/