Comparative Analysis of YOLOv8 and YOLOv10 in Vehicle Detection: Performance Metrics and Model Efficacy

Accurate vehicle detection is crucial for the advancement of intelligent transportation systems, including autonomous driving and traffic monitoring. This paper presents a comparative analysis of two advanced deep learning models—YOLOv8 and YOLOv10—focusing on their efficacy in vehicle detection across multiple classes such as bicycles, buses, cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Using a range of performance metrics, including precision, recall, F1 score, and detailed confusion matrices, we evaluate the performance characteristics of each model.The findings reveal that YOLOv10 generally outperformed YOLOv8, particularly in detecting smaller and more complex vehicles like bicycles and trucks, which can be attributed to its architectural enhancements. Conversely, YOLOv8 showed a slight advantage in car detection, underscoring subtle differences in feature processing between the models. The performance for detecting buses and motorcycles was comparable, indicating robust features in both YOLO versions. This research contributes to the field by delineating the strengths and limitations of these models and providing insights into their practical applications in real-world scenarios. It enhances understanding of how different YOLO architectures can be optimized for specific vehicle detection tasks, thus supporting the development of more efficient and precise detection systems.