Small object detection: A comprehensive survey on challenges, techniques and real-world applications

• Small object detection (SOD) is a critical yet challenging task in computer vision. • This survey provides a review of articles published in Q1 journals during 2024–25. • We analyzed challenges, techniques, datasets, metrics, and real-world applications. Small object detection (SOD) is a critical yet challenging task in computer vision, with applications like spanning surveillance, autonomous systems, medical imaging, and remote sensing. Unlike larger objects, small objects contain limited spatial and contextual information, making accurate detection difficult. Challenges such as low resolution, occlusion, background interference, and class imbalance further complicate the problem. This survey provides a…