LangGas: Introducing Language in Selective Zero-Shot Background Subtraction for Semi-Transparent Gas Leak Detection with a New Dataset

Gas leakage poses a significant hazard that requires prevention. Traditionally, human inspection has been used for detection, a slow and labour-intensive process. Recent research has applied machine learning techniques to this problem, yet there remains a shortage of high-quality, publicly available datasets. This paper introduces a synthetic dataset featuring diverse backgrounds, interfering foreground objects, diverse leak locations, and precise segmentation ground truth. We propose a zero-shot method that combines background subtraction, zero-shot object detection, filtering, and segmentation to leverage this dataset. Experimental results indicate that our approach significantly outperforms baseline methods based solely on background subtraction and zero-shot object detection with segmentation, reaching an IoU of 69% overall. We also present an analysis of various prompt configurations and threshold settings to provide deeper insights into the performance of our method. The dataset is available at https://forms.gle/aPHPfnM4Lwaz9FKB8.