What It Is

SmartPoly is an automated way to create polygon shapes in both image and video annotation. Instead of manually selecting individual points around the perimeter of an object, SmartPoly allows an annotator to select a foreground object in as little as one click saving a significant amount of time.

Where It Is

SmartPoly can be found in both image and video annotation in the Alegion Control platform. Once a project has been created, and necessary assets uploaded, the only required step is to verify that a valid polygon shape has been created in the “Entity Types” portion of the project’s ontology prior to generating records from the assets and beginning annotation.

How To Use It

Getting Started

Once a record has been opened for annotation, select the Polygon button on the left hand side of the image preview. This will bring up settings on the bottom left of the screen that provide options for how to capture the polygon. To enable the use of SmartPoly, switch to its radial button and away from the “Manual” option. To create the SmartPoly, click the object that needs to be annotated. If the shape is correct in its current form, click “Commit Shape” to finalize the selection.

Additional Settings

If the initial shape is not accurate, there are also a number of additional options that will help refine the accuracy of the selection. 

Prediction Threshold

If the general shape of the selection is correct but the exact edges are not to your liking, the “Prediction Threshold” slider can be dragged to adjust the aggressiveness of the polygon prediction. A higher number represents a higher degree of scrutiny as to what portions of the image will be included in the selection, whereas a lower number represents the inverse. As the slider is dragged, it will adjust the border of the polygon to contain more or less of the object depending on the direction. 

Inclusion/Exclusion Regions

If there are complete sections of the desired shape that are omitted from the initial selection, click on that portion of the shape to have it added to the selection. This addition will be represented by a green dot which is known as an “Inclusion Region”. Inversely, if there is an undesired portion of the image that has been included in the initial selection, click on that part of the selection to have it excluded. This subtraction will be represented by a red dot which is known as an “Exclusion Region”. If an Inclusion or Exclusion Region has been made erroneously, it can be removed by holding ALT on windows and Option on MacOS and clicking the dot representing the unwanted region.

Summary

For best results, it is recommended to use a combination of these two features to insure the most accurate and representative annotation of the subject. However, if after tweaking both of these options the annotation is still not correct you can always manually adjust the polygon after committing the shape. Once you are satisfied with the annotation, or have determined that the annotation will require manual adjustment to refine it further, click "Commit Shape" to complete the SmartPoly portion of the annotation.