Adaptive Modular Retrieval-Augmented Framework for Cross-Domain Image Classification

Abstract

Effective image classification in real-world scenarios requires models capable of capturing both local features and global context, while adapting to the evolving complexity of the input. This paper presents a hybrid deep learning system named AMR-Net (Adaptive Modular Retrieval Network) for adaptable image classification in environmental and industrial contexts. The proposed model integrates ResNet-based local feature extraction and Vision Transformer-based global representation learning with an FAISS-based memory retrieval module for contextual enhancement. Furthermore, AMR-Net has an adaptive modular extension mechanism to dynamically enhance network capacity when validation performance plateaus during training. The proposed framework was evaluated using a ten-class waste classification dataset and the Kolektor Surface Defect Dataset 2 (KolektorSDD2), achieving classification accuracies of 97.15% and 99.80%, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that AMR-Net consistently outperforms mainstream convolutional and transformer-based approaches while maintaining robust cross-domain generalization. Component-wise ablation studies show that global attention (ViT), retrieval-based contextual learning (FAISS), and adaptive modular growth each provide complementary and partially overlapping contributions to overall performance, with global attention contributing the largest individual gain. The proposed architecture is a scalable and flexible solution for image classification challenges characterized by data unpredictability, class imbalance, and dynamic feature distributions.