Improved Infrared Road Object Detection Algorithm Based on Attention Mechanism in YOLOv8

In Currently, research in the field of infrared road object detection is primarily focused on enhancing model performance and robustness to address the challenges posed by complex real-world driving scenarios. In response to these challenges, this paper proposes an infrared road object detection algorithm based on an attention mechanism. By incorporating the CPCA module, which utilizes attention mechanisms, into the YOLOv8s model, the algorithm enhances the model's focus on unobstructed areas and highly illuminated sections, extracting crucial feature information to improve both accuracy and robustness. Additionally, the original model's downsampling layer is replaced with the Context Grided Network Block Downsampling (CGBD) module, which not only preserves feature edge information but also effectively handles local and contextual features, thereby enhancing the overall feature capturing capabilities of the model. To address the issue of equal aspect ratios in the model's original loss function, the proposed algorithm adopts the superior Weighted Intersection over Union (WIoU). This not only addresses the shortcomings of the original loss function (CIoU) but also demonstrates increased sensitivity in classification tasks. Experimental results show that the improved algorithm, compared to YOLOv8s, achieves a 1.4% increase in mean average precision (mAP), along with notable improvements in precision and recall. Furthermore, when compared to mainstream model algorithms, the enhanced model significantly outperforms in infrared road object detection tasks, providing validation of its effectiveness.