How to start building models

This document summarises how to start building models from scratch, assuming that all you have is a set of un-annotated images. Thanks to Tom Hangartner for the text.

It is assumed that you have set up your path so that the various tools can be run from the command line. (eg Under Windows,add the path for the programs to the system under Control Panel>System> Advanced>Environment Vairables. In the lower panel edit the path statement by adding the appropriate path after a semicolon. The computer needs to be rebooted before this change takes effect.

Preparatory Tasks

Annotating the First Image

It is assumed that you are running a shell or command prompt. Change directory to the models directory you have created.
See also the details on the am_markup start program.

Create a First Model

Annotating Further Images

The search will not work very well if trained with only a single image. It is recommended that one rebuild the model after adding a few images. To do this, exit am_markup and re-run the am_build_apm/am_build_aam tools. The model SMD file will have been automatically updated to include the images you have annotated (but it is worth checking it to make sure there aren't duplicates or any problems). Delete the annotated files from the data_todo.smd file. Then re-run am_markup and continue as above.

As more images are added the model becomes more flexible and better able to generalise.


Please contact Tim with comments on these instructions.