Humans in the Loop

What are the key features of Humans in the Loop?

• Dataset collection.
• Dataset annotation.
• Human in the loop for active learning.
• Real-time edge case handling.
• Reinforcement learning with human feedback.
• Bounding boxes.
• Polygons.
• Keypoints.
• Semantic segmentation.

What are the annotation services offered by Humans in the Loop?

• Bounding box annotation.
• Keypoint annotation.
• Polygon annotation.
• Video annotation.
• Semantic segmentation.
• 3D annotation.

What are the use cases of Humans in the Loop?

Geospatial

• Drones.
• Infrared imagery.
• Satellite imagery.
• Natural disasters.
• SAR.

Automotive

• Self-driving cars.
• Insurance.
• Delivery robots.
• Traffic monitoring.
• Damage analysis.

Medical

• Radiology.
• Robotic surgery.
• Ultrasound.
• Gastroenterology.
• Cardiology.

Industrial

• Manufacturing.
• Logistics.
• Recycling.
• PPE detection.
• Construction.

Agriculture

• Precise farming.
• Plant counting.
• Weed detection.
• Soil analysis.
• Disease detection.

Retail

• E-commerce.
• Smart carts.
• Fashion.
• Shopper tracking.
• Shelf monitoring.

What Inspired the creation of Humans in the Loop?  (Source : Youtube Channel : Humans in the Loop)

What is bounding box annotation?
An annotation with a bounding box indicates that each object in an image or video frame must be enclosed by a rectangular shape. A pair of x min/y min and x max/y max values are produced by the annotation. 

Where can the bounding box annotation be used?

• Medical: examining blood smears to find abnormal cells.
• Geospatial: using drones to count the animals in a field.
• Automotive: self-driving car detection of vehicles and pedestrians.
• Industrial: calculating the quantity of goods produced.
• Agriculture: calculating the number and size of plants.
• Retail: labeling already-existing goods on store shelves.

What are the pros and cons of bounding box annotation?

Pros of bounding box annotation

• Drawing bounding boxes is quick and simple.
• They can be used to estimate an object's actual size even when it is partially obscured.

Cons of bounding box annotation

• Easily has a large number of non-objective pixels.
• The speed at which annotations can be performed varies amongst tools.

What is polygon annotation?

Polygon annotation is a precise method for annotating objects by picking a sequence of x and y coordinates along their edges. It can have pixel-perfect precision while remaining highly versatile and adaptable to a wide range of shapes.

Where can the polygon annotation be used?

• Medical: describing the interior organ anatomy on CT scans.
• Geospatial: obtaining accurate footprints of buildings.
• Automotive: identifying vehicle damage and estimating repair costs.
• Industrial: generating exact liquid measurements with a centrifuge.
• Agriculture: tracking plant development.
• Retail: identifying items in a customer's basket.

What are the pros and cons of polygon annotation?

Pros of polygon annotation

• Polygons are great for identifying irregular forms.
• Pixel-perfect annotation means that no unnecessary pixels enter the marked area.

Cons of polygon annotation

• Polygons may take more time for annotation  depending on the object's complexity.
• Not every annotation tool has the capacity to create holes inside polygons.

What is keypoint annotation?

Keypoint annotation is made up of several numbered spots called keypoints that are connected by edges. They are an excellent method for recording differences between items that always have the same structure. 

Where can the keypoint annotation be used?

• Medical: monitoring devices in robotic-assisted surgery.
• Geospatial: tracking the movements of cranes on building sites.
• Automotive: monitoring street-level pedestrian activity.
•  Industrial: identifying factory workers' hand motions.
• Agriculture: monitoring livestock movements.
• Retail: tracking customer behavior in intelligent supermarkets.

What are the pros and cons of keypoint annotation?

Pros of keypoint annotation

• Annotation becomes much easier.
• Keypoints help annotators avoid forgetting any nodes in the sequence.

Cons of keypoint annotation

• Objects must have the same regular structure.
• Edge scenarios where certain keypoints are not visible can cause confusion in the model.

What is semantic segmentation?

Semantic segmentation selects parts of the image and assigns them a class. Typically, the result is a PNG mask that displays the colors of every class.

Where can semantic segmentation be used?

• Medical: charting an organ's complete DICOM slice
• Geospatial: tracking areas of deforestation or industrialization using satellite imagery.
• Automotive: recognizing each and every component in a road scenario
• Industrial: separating casting flaws on metal components
• Agriculture: separating crops from weeds for effective herbicide use
• Retail: developing virtual dressing rooms that differentiate the user from the background.

What are the pros and cons of semantic segmentation?

Pros of semantic segmentation

• Highly accurate.
• It speeds up the annotation process.

Cons of semantic segmentation

• Time consuming.
• Semantic segmentation recognizes that there are specific categories in the image but does not know how many occurrences of each and how they overlap.

What is video annotation?

Video annotation can take several forms, including frame extraction and classification, event detection, tracking of objects and activities using bounding boxes, polygons, or keypoints, and so on.

Where can the video annotation be used?

• Medical: monitoring organs with ultrasound videos.
• Geospatial: analyzing video from drones.
• Automobiles: traffic surveillance at junctions to identify infractions.
• Industrial: product tracking and sorting on a conveyor belt.
• Agriculture: tracking an orchard's fruit maturity over time.
• Retail: identifying instances of theft in shopping centers.

What are the pros and cons of video annotation?

Pros of video annotation

• You can annotate videos with a variety of shapes.
• Labelers can add static or dynamic attributes.

Cons of video annotation

• Time consuming.
• Annotation platforms must have strong processing capabilities.

What is 3D annotation?

3D annotation can be conducted on three-dimensional data, such as point clouds, and it takes depth, distance, and volume into consideration. 

Where can the 3D annotation be used?

• Medical: Analyzing 3D scans like MRIs and CTs.
• Geospatial: Identify 3D structures.
• Automotive: using LiDAR point cloud data to track vehicles.
• Industrial: identifying irregularities in product 3D scans.
• Agriculture: powering harvesting robots to collect fruits.
• Retail: Recognizing motions and attitudes for VR and AR applications.

What are the pros and cons of 3D annotation?

Pros of 3D annotation

• Provides useful information.
• Good approximation.

Cons of 3D annotation

• Time consuming.
• Quality may vary.