Reproducible Evaluation of Camera Auto-Exposure Methods in the Field: Platform, Benchmark, and Lessons Learned
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Standard datasets often present limitations, particularly due to the fixed nature of input data sensors, which makes it difficult to compare methods that actively adjust sensor parameters to suit environmental conditions. This is the case with Automatic-Exposure (AE) methods, which rely on environmental factors to influence the image acquisition process. As a result, AE methods have traditionally been benchmarked in an online manner, rendering experiments non-reproducible. Building on our prior work, we propose a methodology that utilizes an emulator capable of generating images at any exposure time. This approach leverages BorealHDR, a unique multi-exposure stereo dataset, along with its new extension, in which data was acquired along a repeated trajectory at different times of the day to assess the impact of changing illumination. In total, BorealHDR covers 13.4 km over 59 trajectories in challenging lighting conditions. The dataset also includes lidar-inertial-odometry-based maps with pose estimation for each image frame, as well as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data for comparison. We demonstrate that by using images acquired at various exposure times, we can emulate realistic images with a Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) below 1.78% compared to ground truth images. Using this offline approach, we benchmarked eight AE methods, concluding that the classical AE method remains the field's best performer. To further support reproducibility, we provide in-depth details on the development of our backpack acquisition platform, including hardware, electrical components, and performance specifications. Additionally, we share valuable lessons learned from deploying the backpack over more than 25 km across various environments. Our code and dataset are available online at this link: https://github.com/norlab-ulaval/TFR24 BorealHDR
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.010 | 0.028 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.003 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.003 | 0.003 |
| Open science | 0.003 | 0.003 |
| Research integrity | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.004 | 0.003 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".