Comparative Analysis of Custom CNN Architectures versus Pre-trained Models and Transfer Learning: A Study on Five Bangladesh Datasets

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Tanvir, Ibrahim, Ruslan, Alif, Solaiman, Sartaj
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Tanvir, Ibrahim
Ruslan, Alif
Solaiman, Sartaj
author_facet Tanvir, Ibrahim
Ruslan, Alif
Solaiman, Sartaj
contents This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of custom-built Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) against popular pre-trained architectures (ResNet-18 and VGG-16) using both feature extraction and transfer learning approaches. We evaluated these models across five diverse image classification datasets from Bangladesh: Footpath Vision, Auto Rickshaw Detection, Mango Image Classification, Paddy Variety Recognition, and Road Damage Detection. Our experimental results demonstrate that transfer learning with fine-tuning consistently outperforms both custom CNNs built from scratch and feature extraction methods, achieving accuracy improvements ranging from 3% to 76% across different datasets. Notably, ResNet-18 with fine-tuning achieved perfect 100% accuracy on the Road Damage BD dataset. While custom CNNs offer advantages in model size (3.4M parameters vs. 11-134M for pre-trained models) and training efficiency on simpler tasks, pre-trained models with transfer learning provide superior performance, particularly on complex classification tasks with limited training data. This research provides practical insights for practitioners in selecting appropriate deep learning approaches based on dataset characteristics, computational resources, and performance requirements.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_04352
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publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Comparative Analysis of Custom CNN Architectures versus Pre-trained Models and Transfer Learning: A Study on Five Bangladesh Datasets
Tanvir, Ibrahim
Ruslan, Alif
Solaiman, Sartaj
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Machine Learning
This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of custom-built Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) against popular pre-trained architectures (ResNet-18 and VGG-16) using both feature extraction and transfer learning approaches. We evaluated these models across five diverse image classification datasets from Bangladesh: Footpath Vision, Auto Rickshaw Detection, Mango Image Classification, Paddy Variety Recognition, and Road Damage Detection. Our experimental results demonstrate that transfer learning with fine-tuning consistently outperforms both custom CNNs built from scratch and feature extraction methods, achieving accuracy improvements ranging from 3% to 76% across different datasets. Notably, ResNet-18 with fine-tuning achieved perfect 100% accuracy on the Road Damage BD dataset. While custom CNNs offer advantages in model size (3.4M parameters vs. 11-134M for pre-trained models) and training efficiency on simpler tasks, pre-trained models with transfer learning provide superior performance, particularly on complex classification tasks with limited training data. This research provides practical insights for practitioners in selecting appropriate deep learning approaches based on dataset characteristics, computational resources, and performance requirements.
title Comparative Analysis of Custom CNN Architectures versus Pre-trained Models and Transfer Learning: A Study on Five Bangladesh Datasets
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.04352