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A Deep-Learning-Based Method for Real-Time Barcode Segmentation on Edge CPUs

delete2026-01-01
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PRE
AI
E
Enrico Vezzali
L
Lorenzo Vorabbi
C
Costantino Grana
F
Federico Bolelli *
DOI:10.1007/978-3-032-04968-1_16delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Barcodes are a critical technology in industrial automation, logistics, and retail, enabling fast and reliable data capture. While deep learning has significantly improved barcode localization accuracy, most modern architectures remain too computationally demanding for real-time deployment on embedded systems without dedicated hardware acceleration. In this work, we present BaFaLo (Barcode Fast Localizer), an ultra-lightweight segmentation-based neural network for barcode localization. Our model is specifically optimized for real-time performance on low-power CPUs while maintaining high localization accuracy for both 1D and 2D barcodes. It features a two-branch architecture-comprising a local feature extractor and a global context module-and is tailored for low-resolution inputs to improve inference speed further. We benchmark BaFaLo against several lightweight architectures for object detection or segmentation, including YOLO Nano, Fast-SCNN, BiSeNet V2, and ContextNet, using the BarBeR dataset. BaFaLo achieves the fastest inference time among all deep-learning models tested, operating at 57.62 ms per frame on a single CPU core of a Raspberry Pi 3B+. Despite its compact design, it achieves a decoding rate nearly equivalent to YOLO Nano for 1D barcodes and only 3.5% points lower for 2D barcodes while being approximately nine times faster.
Keywords:
Barcodes
Embedded Systems
Object Detection

Journal

C
COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF IMAGES AND PATTERNS, CAIP 2025, PT I
IF:
0
Papers:
32
Citations:
0

Organization

U
Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Scholars:
499
Papers: 209
Citations: 0