Comparative Evaluation of Deep Learning Object Detectors for Embedded Weed Detection on Resource-Constrained Platforms

Computer vision–based weed detection plays a critical role in agricultural robotics, enabling accurate, selective weeding. These systems operate on resource-constrained embedded platforms, which introduces a significant trade-off between accuracy and efficiency. This study presents a comparative evaluation of six detection models (YOLOv11n, YOLOv11s, SSD-Lite, NanoDet, Faster R-CNN, RT-DETR) for agro-robotic applications, measuring precision, recall, mAP@0.5, and runtime on low-power hard-ware. NanoDet achieved the highest detection accuracy (precision 98.6%, recall 94.2%, mAP@0.5 97.7%). YOLOv11s demonstrated similar performance (mAP@0.5: 96.1%) but required more computation. YOLOv11n provides the most favourable balance between accuracy and throughput (mAP@0.5: 94.6%, 207 FPS on a workstation). On Raspberry Pi 5, light models achieved 3–5 FPS. RT-DETR and Faster R-CNN exhibited high latency (3112–6500 ms/frame), which prevents real-time operation. NanoDet excelled in detection, while YOLOv11n provides the best balance between accuracy and efficiency for limited devices.