In this case study, we will explore the process of creating a workflow for pose estimation using MMPose.
The Ikomia API simplifies the development of Computer Vision workflows and provides easy experimentation with different parameters to achieve optimal results.
Using the Ikomia API, you can effortlessly create a workflow for pose estimation with MMPose in just a few lines of code.
To get started, all you need is to install the API in a virtual environment.
How to install a virtual environment
While OpenMMLab offers an excellent toolkit for Computer Vision, its documentation can sometimes be challenging to navigate for algorithm development.
Fortunately, these projects have been integrated into the Ikomia ecosystem, simplifying the installation process and making it easy to incorporate into your workflow.
You can also charge directly the open-source notebook we have prepared.
For a step-by-step guide with detailed information on the algorithm's parameters, refer to this section.
In the world of Computer Vision, pose estimation aims to determine the position and orientation of predefined keypoints on objects or body parts. For instance, in human pose estimation, the goal is to locate specific keypoints on a person's body, such as the elbows, knees, and shoulders.
MMPose, a part of the OpenMMLab's ecosystem, is a cutting-edge library that provides tools and frameworks specifically designed for various pose estimation tasks.
OpenMMLab is a community-driven open-source initiative that concentrates on advancing research in Computer Vision. Originating from the Multimedia Laboratory (MMLab) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), it has grown to encompass contributions from a broad spectrum of researchers, developers, and enthusiasts worldwide.
The primary objectives of OpenMMLab are:
OpenMMLab develops libraries to cater for specific tasks within Computer Vision.
A comprehensive toolbox designed for object detection and instance segmentation. It supports a plethora of models and is known for its flexibility and performance.
Dedicated to semantic segmentation tasks, this toolbox supports numerous state-of-the-art models and provides a platform for research and deployment in segmentation.
A comprehensive toolbox designed for optical character recognition (OCR) tasks. MMOCR provides tools for text detection, recognition, and understanding, supporting a wide range of state-of-the-art algorithms and models. It caters to a broad spectrum of OCR tasks such as scene text detection, recognition, and PDF/table understanding.
As previously discussed, MMPose is geared towards pose estimation tasks, from human body keypoints to face and hand keypoints.
MMPose is a versatile toolbox built upon PyTorch that caters to multiple pose estimation tasks, including:
One of the primary strengths of MMPose lies in its architectural design.
MMPose separates its configuration into different modules, enabling researchers to mix and match components, for easy experimentation and deployment.
MMPose supports a variety of network backbones, such as ResNet, HRNet, and MobileNet, ensuring flexibility based on computational needs.
The library provides pre-trained models that have been trained on standard datasets, enabling users to achieve competitive results out-of-the-box.
Researchers can easily extend the toolbox to cater to their specific requirements, whether it’s a new type of layer, loss, or even dataset.
The potential of MMPose spans a wide range of sectors.
These use cases are just the tip of the iceberg. As technology advances, the applications of pose estimation will continue to grow and diversify.
MMPose from OpenMMLab offers an extensive toolkit for pose estimation tasks, combining flexibility, ease of use, and state-of-the-art performance.
Its modular architecture allows researchers and developers to customize and extend it to meet their specific needs. Whether you're a beginner just starting with pose estimation or a seasoned researcher looking for a robust framework, MMPose is a worthy addition to your toolkit.
In this section, we will demonstrate how to utilize the Ikomia API to create a workflow for pose estimation with MMPose as presented above.
We initialize a workflow instance. The “wf” object can then be used to add tasks to the workflow instance, configure their parameters, and run them on input data.
You can get the full list of available config_file by running the following code snippet:
You can apply the workflow to your image using the ‘run_on()’ function. In this example, we use the image url:
Finally, you can display image results using the display function:
Example for hand pose estimation:
In this tutorial, we have explored the process of creating a workflow for pose estimation with MMPose.
For a deeper understanding of pose estimation, refer to our comprehensive OpenPose guide.
The Ikomia API streamlines the development of Computer Vision workflows, facilitating easy experimentation with various parameters to achieve the best outcomes.
For a comprehensive presentation of the API, consult the documentation. Additionally, browse the list of cutting-edge algorithms available on Ikomia HUB and explore Ikomia STUDIO, which provides a user-friendly interface with the same functionalities as the API.
[1] nba.com - im-back-michael-jordans-famous-return-basketball
[2] https://mmpose.readthedocs.io/en/1.x/user_guides/inference.html