Buckshot

Fine-tuned CNN for deer detection in camera-trap images, built as a class project. May revisit with finer-grained classification — buck vs. doe, antler presence, or tine counting.

PythonPyTorchComputer VisionCNN

Buckshot

Buckshot is a fine-tuned convolutional neural network trained to detect deer in camera-trap images. The model was developed as a class project, with a written report covering dataset preparation, training methodology, and results.

Camera-trap images present a particular challenge: variable lighting, heavy occlusion, motion blur, and deer that are often partially obscured by vegetation.

Possible Directions

The current model does binary detection — deer or not. Some directions worth exploring:

  • Buck vs. doe classification — sex identification from image features
  • Antler detection — isolating bucks with visible antlers
  • Tine counting — estimating rack size, which is significantly harder and would likely need a dedicated keypoint or segmentation approach