An innovative approach for detecting buildings and construction anomalies in Zenata City

Abstract

Rapid urban development in Morocco has led to increased construction activities and significant environmental concerns. Recently Zenata city has undergone significant urban development, marking a crucial step in its trajectory toward a modern smart city. As a part of this growth, our research incorporates an innovative method within the You Only Look Once version 8 (YOLOv8) model, representing a significant advance over conventional methods. The YOLO algorithm has been updated with new features and improvements that infuse our work with a dash of innovation. YOLOv8 integration improves construction and irregular construction detection accuracy beyond what is possible with traditional applications. We trained our algorithm using orthophoto captured by DJI MATRICE 300 RTK drone split into georeferenced tiles and annotated using LabelImg software. Through this process, we were able to create a solid 742 image dataset for training, testing, and validation purposes related to construction. Utilizing drone imagery and the YOLOv8 object detection algorithm, buildings and construction irregularities are detected with high accuracy after 300 training epochs on Kaggle's GPU P100. Insights for early detection and effective building site management are provided by this all-encompassing strategy, which supports Zenata City's sustainable urban growth.