Automating Helmet Usage Detection: A YOLOv8 Based Framework

Abstract

Abstract: The biggest threat to Powered two-wheeler(PTW) riders is a head injury. With the humongous amount of daily commuters on such PTWs, the risk only increases substantially. In such cases, helmets reduce the risk of head injuries in accidents but not every citizen is keen on their use. In India, where the use of motorcycles is widespread, ensuring helmetuse remains a challenge. This study explores the effectiveness of YOLOv8(You Only Look Once) a state-of-the-art single-stage object detection algorithm for helmet detection on Indian roads [14]. The CNN(Convolutional Neural Networks) based technologyimplements many other efficient, reliable and quick algorithmsto train, validate and predict the object’s detection, segmentationand classification task. We leverage the use of a publicly available Indian helmet dataset from Kaggle, containing 942 images with annotations. This an image dataset of real-life powered two-wheeler riders. The dataset has images and video frames for training on 5 different objects/classes along with annotations that specify thoseobjects. This multi-class approach offers valuable insight intohelmet usage patterns paves shows us the way for real-world applications for automated traffic monitoring. Real-time helmet and number plate detection can become a game changer in trafficmonitoring and can strengthen basic safety laws