Bounding boxes

A bounding box defines a region of interest for the localization.

It is used to localize objects of one kind only in defined areas of the scene (e.g., multiple bins in one scene, containing the same kind of object) or to effectively eliminate any false positives outside the region of interest.
Additionally, it can speed up the localization process.
Usage of the localization bounding box is optional - when unconfigured, localization searches for objects in the whole scene (point cloud).
Image 1 - Localization configuration interface

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Contents

1 Configuration

In the localization interface, there are two tabs available in the right pane of the main Localization page:

  • Localized objects - contains the list of localized objects with their properties

  • Bounding boxes - offers management of bounding boxes

All adjustments of the bounding box setup are done under the tab Bounding boxes. When the tab Localized objects is selected, it is only possible to switch between the configured bounding boxes.
Image 2 - The tab Bounding boxes in the localization configuration interface (currently selected)

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1.1 Main toolbar

The main toolbar allows management of the list of configured bounding boxes. The toolbar is separated into two parts:

  • List management actions - on the left side, containing the actions available for the bounding box list

  • Active bounding box selector - on the right side, allowing the selection of the active bounding box

Image 3 - The main bounding box toolbar - List management actions (left) and Active bounding box selector (right)
List management actions

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  • Add new - adds a new bounding box

  • Visibility toggle - toggles between showing only the active bounding box and all configured bounding boxes

  • List removal - removes all bounding boxes

  • Bounding box configuration import - imports a bounding box configuration from a .pbbcf file

  • Bounding box configuration export - exports the current bounding box configuration to a .pbbcf file

Active bounding box selector

Its purpose is the selection of the active bounding box for the next run of localization. The selector contains IDs of all configured bounding boxes and a special “X” option, which disables the bounding box usage.
The active bounding box is selected by clicking on its ID. Only one bounding box can be active at a time. In the visualizer, the active bounding box is highlighted with blue color while the others are grey.
Image 4 - The currently active bounding (in the middle) is highlighted with blue color

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1.2 Bounding box actions

Each configured bounding box in the list offers the following actions:

  • Status indicator - indicates whether there are pending unsaved changes to the bounding box

  • Visibility toggle - toggles the visibility of the bounding box

  • Duplicate button - duplicates the bounding box

  • Set initial flag - sets the bounding box to be activated upon solution deployment

  • Delete button - deletes the bounding box

Image 5 - Bounding box actions

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1.3 Bounding box properties

When a bounding box is selected from the bounding box list, a form appears with its properties:

  • ID - a unique identifier, used to activate the bounding box during runtime

  • Name - for simple identification of the bounding box

  • Size (Width/Height/Depth) - defines the dimensions of the bounding box

  • Position - defines the position of the bounding box relative to the origin of the scan (camera space)

  • Rotation - defines the rotation of the bounding box relative to the origin of the scan (camera space)

In the top right corner, buttons for copying/pasting bounding box properties to/from the clipboard are located.

Image 6 - Bounding box properties
The selected bounding box can also be manipulated directly in the visualizer, where, upon its selection, the 3D object tools panel appears.
Image 7 - Bounding box manipulated using the 3D objects tools (resizing in progress)
From left to right, the available options are:

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  • Move - Change the position of the bounding box along the desired axis by dragging a marker.

  • Rotate - Change the rotation of the bounding box around the desired axis by dragging a marker.

  • Resize - Change the dimensions of the bounding box along the desired axis by dragging a marker

  • Reset - Reset the bounding box to its default values

2 Runtime

Upon solution deployment, for all vision systems with configured bounding box(es), the one with the flag Initial is automatically activated.

In the following application cycles, to change the active bounding box for a vision system, the action request Change localization bounding box is used:

  • Change localization bounding box request for Bin Picking Studio

  • Change localization bounding box request for Locator Studio

The request has two required parameters - the ID of the vision system and the ID of one of its bounding boxes that should be activated.
For a bounding box to take effect during a localization run, it must be activated before calling the Scan request.
In the deployment visualizer, the widget Bounding Boxes shows the currently active (bold) bounding box for each vision system.
Image 8 - Deployment visualizer with the widget Bounding Boxes open, highlighting the active bounding box (Left - ID: 1)

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