FAQ

Current versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox. Annotators install nothing: they open the server’s address, for example https://annotation-pc:8080/, and sign in. Only the server is installed, on one computer in your network.

Requirements, Installing the Server

No. The server, the project folders or S3 buckets and the box suggestion service all run on your computers. Only the browsers of your users access them.

Description, Before Installation

The server speaks HTTPS by default. Without a certificate of its own, it creates a self-signed one at the first start, which browsers do not know yet.

HTTPS

Yes. Both write the same files, so the desktop tool and the web app can work on the same project folder. The server takes changes made with the desktop tool into the history (it scans the folders every 60 seconds). If both change the same image at the same time, saving in the browser reports a conflict and offers Load their version or Overwrite with mine; the other version stays in the history.

Working at the Same Time, Annotation Files

Yes. <image>.csv and <image>.json next to each image are byte-identical to those of the desktop tool. With several annotators per image, the reference annotation is written to exactly these files, so training reads only agreed or reviewed boxes.

Annotation Files, Several Annotators per Image

No. PNG, JPEG, BMP and TIFF are read, every page of a multi-page TIFF is an image of its own. The export writes them as PNG for LumiScan Training.

Image Formats

Not at the same time in normal mode: whoever opens the image first holds the edit lock, the others see it read-only, with a banner that names who is editing. The lock ends 60 seconds after that person closes the image. With several annotators per image, every annotator has their own version, and they can work on the same image at the same time.

Working at the Same Time

With several annotators per image, annotation is blind on purpose: only independent annotations show where images are ambiguous. Reviewers see all versions side by side and decide.

Several Annotators per Image, How To: Check Annotations with Two Annotators

The server writes the mean of their boxes as the reference annotation. Training uses it, and nobody needs to review the image. Otherwise the image goes to review, sorted by the largest differences first.

Several Annotators per Image

✎ n notes for you in the top bar opens the next image with a note for you. Use Reply to answer and Done once you have fixed the image; done notes stay visible.

Revision Notes

Open History, click the earlier version, choose Restore, then Save. Saving adds a new version; the history is never rewritten.

History and Undo

The server has no box suggestion service configured (pre_annotation in the configuration), or you have no annotator role in the project.

Box Suggestion Service, Box Suggestions

Yes, if you retrain the network regularly with the corrected annotations and put the new network into the service. Every corrected suggestion is training data for the next network.

How To: Annotate Faster with Box Suggestions

The ones the network is least sure about. Rate with network above the image list rates the folder; Network least sure first sorts by it.

Rate with network

Export in the top bar downloads a ready LumiScan Training project with training and validation images. Unpack it into the Training’s projects folder and open it there.

Exporting the Annotations

Yes. Export also offers the COCO format, with or without the images. Standard tools draw each oriented box from its corners (segmentation); the exact box is in obb.

COCO

Add their directory group as a member of the project, or map the group to a role under Groups → roles. Members of the group sign in with their directory or single sign-on account and get the role of their group.

Groups, Sign-in Methods

Projects → Export gives one file with images, annotations, settings and notes. HD Vision Systems imports it, annotates and sends it back the same way.

Export and import

The server backs up the database (accounts, projects, history, notes), the configuration and the HTTPS certificate automatically, every 24 hours by default, and keeps the last 14 backups. The images and annotation files are backed up with your folders, or per project with the export.

Backup and Restore

This version of LumiScan Annotation Web runs without a LumiScan Key. For licensing questions, contact HD Vision Systems.

Requirements

See the site-wide LumiScan FAQ. Contact HD Vision Systems at info@hdvisionsystems.com or +49 6221 67219-00, and send the server log and the version (lumiscan-annotation-server --version).

Logs