Bounding Boxes & Content Annotation: What’s the Connection?
Technology is riding high on a wave of success. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Computer Vision (CV) are scaling one peak after another and changing how machines work. However, technology is yet to create something potent enough to match the precision of human perception.
The model prediction is only as effective as the accuracy of the data annotation, which in turn is only as effective as the algorithm training. So it all boils down to one thing:
How to annotate data effectively?
There are three ways to data annotation:
- Manual annotation, where experts manually label all data.
- Semi-automated annotation where machine learning models help experts.
- Automated annotation, where machines use bounding box object detection to identify and label the objects in the data.
Choosing the right annotation depends on the use case because different annotation techniques are better suited for different use cases.
When it comes to data annotation, image and video annotation form the core of CV-based AI models transforming our world. Annotation adds information to images and videos and, by doing so, provides context to training datasets for CV models.
In this context, Bounding Boxes are considered one of the most popular image and video annotation tools.
Why Are Bounding Boxes Important in Data Annotation?
Bounding boxes are imaginary rectangles-very much like a box. Bounding boxes outline objects in an image and serve as a point of reference for the objects. These rectangles are drawn around ML images and define the X and Y coordinates of the objects of interest within each image.
Using Bounding Boxes in the image and video annotation is beneficial because it:
- Streamlines ML algorithms search to find what they are looking for.
- Determining collision paths
- Protects indispensable computing resources
Axis-aligned bounding boxes work best when vertical shapes directly face the camera. Rotating bounding boxes can be placed over multiple objects, which reduces the amount of pixels covered by the objects not targeted by the bounding boxes.
Basically, without annotation, machines cannot detect the objects of desire. Hence, bounding boxes are fundamental for image annotation as they create accurate training and testing data for CV models.
Multiple industries are relying on this annotation technique to make more precise datasets. The importance of bounding boxes is better explained with its use cases in these industries. Let’s explore the popular ones.
Major Industry-Based Uses Of Bounding Boxes
1. Surveillance & security
Bounding boxes train AI-driven security models to scrutinize and identify suspicious-looking objects caught in the camera footage. For example, they can be trained to pinpoint guns, bombs, and vehicles entering restricted areas. Suspicious objects are often hidden from the camera’s direct view. However, with advanced AI algorithms, it is possible to detect objects lying in the dark or even out of the camera frame.
2. E-commerce & retail
Image annotation with bounding boxes provides more clarity and product visualization in online retail stores. By training perception models on multiple datasets with labeled images, they can learn to recognize image patterns. The perception model can apply this knowledge to new datasets to correctly identify and classify images.
3. Autonomous cars
In the automotive industry, bounding box training data helps machines detect objects like:
- Traffic lights
- Pedestrians
- Other vehicles
- Number of lanes
- Street signs
- Barricades
Advanced data training allows the machines to respond to instructions based on perceived data.
4. Animal husbandry
Surprisingly, image and video annotation with bounding boxes make itself a valuable asset in animal husbandry in the following ways:
- Livestock management- To detect behavioral changes in animals in the presence of humans.
- Disease management- Early detection of diseases and their symptoms help take prompt action and curb the spread of disease.
- Livestock protection- Monitoring potential attacks from wild animals, especially at night.
5. Insurance industry
Insurance regulators can use bounding box-trained CV models to identify accidents and repeated mishaps. By using bounding boxes, models can pinpoint where the mishap happened on the vehicle, such as:
- Broken window glasses
- Broken front and tail lights
- Dents on the body
- Damages to the roof
- Scratches on the paint
With bounding box annotations, machines can accurately estimate the damage to the vehicle, and insurers can use this information to make their claims.
6. Robotics & drone imagery
Thanks to various elements annotated by bounding boxes, robots, and drones can detect physical objects from a distance. For example, robot-operated assembly lines can operate more efficiently with trained AI models. Annotators can fit rotating bounding boxes to things within crowded assembly lines, enabling the robot to operate without human intervention and supervision.
Likewise, in drone imagery, AI models help in the accurate detection of AC units, damaged roofs, and even animal migration.
7. Waste management
Since waste management involves a wide range of objects, AI models use bounding boxes to identify different materials, especially in landfills. In the coming years, AI systems will perform much better as they will be trained with rotating bounding boxes.
8. Shipping industry
Under the broad spectrum of the shipping industry, rotating bounding boxes play an inherent role in training AI models to help with:
Automated fishing management.
- Naval warfare
- Vessel traffic service
- Cargo management
- Ship detection and counting
In this context, AI models are trained to capture the rotational and translational properties of objects within the boxes. This technology enables precision under complex shipping conditions.
Also Read: AI-Based Gaming Behavior Moderation or Human Moderation: What’s Better?
9. Agriculture
Image annotation with bounding boxes has reached the realm of agriculture. With the development of “smart farming,” bounding boxes teach AI models with collected data to detect plant growth rates and seasonal diseases. Even AI-driven drones can help survey vast agricultural areas and see farmers in problematic situations.
10. Real-life situations
Bounding boxes enable ML models to detect real-life situations like:
- Sense of space
- Location of objects within the space
- Dimensions of the objects
For instance, it is possible to detect indoor objects like cabinets, benches, tables, beds, and electrical appliances arranged inside a room.
11. Military applications
Technology and the military are inseparable. All the latest tech advancements are used to improve existing military applications or create new ones, and bounding boxes are no exception. They are currently being used for:
- Military ship tracking
- Air fleet counting
- Tank monitoring
- Satellite imagery for target tracking.
There you have it! From agriculture and military to surveillance, bounding boxes have opened the doors for more applications across multiple industries, making themselves indispensable in image annotation and labeling.
Image & Video Annotation By Opporture
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