Pose Detection in the Browser: PoseNet Model

This package contains a standalone model called PoseNet, as well as some demos, for running real-time pose estimation in the browser using TensorFlow.js.

Try the demo here!

PoseNet can be used to estimate either a single pose or multiple poses, meaning there is a version of the algorithm that can detect only one person in an image/video and one version that can detect multiple persons in an image/video.

Refer to this blog post for a high-level description of PoseNet running on Tensorflow.js.

To keep track of issues we use the tensorflow/tfjs Github repo.

Installation

You can use this as standalone es5 bundle like this:

  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tensorflow/[email protected]"></script>
  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tensorflow-models/[email protected]"></script>

Or you can install it via npm for use in a TypeScript / ES6 project.

npm install @tensorflow-models/posenet

Usage

Either a single pose or multiple poses can be estimated from an image. Each methodology has its own algorithm and set of parameters.

Keypoints

All keypoints are indexed by part id. The parts and their ids are:

| Id | Part | | -- | -- | | 0 | nose | | 1 | leftEye | | 2 | rightEye | | 3 | leftEar | | 4 | rightEar | | 5 | leftShoulder | | 6 | rightShoulder | | 7 | leftElbow | | 8 | rightElbow | | 9 | leftWrist | | 10 | rightWrist | | 11 | leftHip | | 12 | rightHip | | 13 | leftKnee | | 14 | rightKnee | | 15 | leftAnkle | | 16 | rightAnkle |

Loading a pre-trained PoseNet Model

In the first step of pose estimation, an image is fed through a pre-trained model. PoseNet comes with a few different versions of the model, each corresponding to a MobileNet v1 architecture with a specific multiplier. To get started, a model must be loaded from a checkpoint, with the MobileNet architecture specified by the multiplier:

const net = await posenet.load(multiplier);

Inputs

• multiplier - An optional number with values: 1.01, 1.0, 0.75, or 0.50. Defaults to 1.01. It is the float multiplier for the depth (number of channels) for all convolution operations. The value corresponds to a MobileNet architecture and checkpoint. The larger the value, the larger the size of the layers, and more accurate the model at the cost of speed. Set this to a smaller value to increase speed at the cost of accuracy.

By default, PoseNet loads a model with a 0.75 multiplier. This is recommended for computers with mid-range/lower-end GPUS. A model with a 1.00 muliplier is recommended for computers with powerful GPUS. A model with a 0.50 architecture is recommended for mobile.

Single-Person Pose Estimation

Single pose estimation is the simpler and faster of the two algorithms. Its ideal use case is for when there is only one person in the image. The disadvantage is that if there are multiple persons in an image, keypoints from both persons will likely be estimated as being part of the same single pose—meaning, for example, that person #1’s left arm and person #2’s right knee might be conflated by the algorithm as belonging to the same pose.

const net = await posenet.load();

const pose = await net.estimateSinglePose(image, imageScaleFactor, flipHorizontal, outputStride);

Inputs

• image - ImageData|HTMLImageElement|HTMLCanvasElement|HTMLVideoElement The input image to feed through the network.
• imageScaleFactor - A number between 0.2 and 1.0. Defaults to 0.50. What to scale the image by before feeding it through the network. Set this number lower to scale down the image and increase the speed when feeding through the network at the cost of accuracy.
• flipHorizontal - Defaults to false. If the poses should be flipped/mirrored horizontally. This should be set to true for videos where the video is by default flipped horizontally (i.e. a webcam), and you want the poses to be returned in the proper orientation.
• outputStride - the desired stride for the outputs when feeding the image through the model. Must be 32, 16, 8. Defaults to 16. The higher the number, the faster the performance but slower the accuracy, and visa versa.

Returns

It returns a pose with a confidence score and an array of keypoints indexed by part id, each with a score and position.

Example Usage

via Script Tag

<html>
  <head>
    <!-- Load TensorFlow.js -->
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tensorflow/[email protected]"></script>
    <!-- Load Posenet -->
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tensorflow-models/[email protected]"></script>
 </head>

  <body>
    <img id='cat' src='/images/cat.jpg '/>
  </body>
  <!-- Place your code in the script tag below. You can also use an external .js file -->
  <script>
    var imageScaleFactor = 0.5;
    var outputStride = 16;
    var flipHorizontal = false;

    var imageElement = document.getElementById('cat');

    posenet.load().then(function(net){
      return net.estimateSinglePose(imageElement, imageScaleFactor, flipHorizontal, outputStride)
    }).then(function(pose){
      console.log(pose);
    })
  </script>
</html>

via NPM

import * as posenet from '@tensorflow-models/posenet';
const imageScaleFactor = 0.5;
const outputStride = 16;
const flipHorizontal = false;

async function estimatePoseOnImage(imageElement) {
  // load the posenet model from a checkpoint
  const net = await posenet.load();

  const pose = await net.estimateSinglePose(imageElement, imageScaleFactor, flipHorizontal, outputStride);

  return pose;
}

const imageElement = document.getElementById('cat');

const pose = estimatePoseOnImage(imageElement);

console.log(pose);

which would produce the output:

{
  "score": 0.32371445304906,
  "keypoints": [
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 76.291801452637,
        "x": 253.36747741699
      },
      "part": "nose",
      "score": 0.99539834260941
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 71.10383605957,
        "x": 253.54365539551
      },
      "part": "leftEye",
      "score": 0.98781454563141
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 71.839515686035,
        "x": 246.00454711914
      },
      "part": "rightEye",
      "score": 0.99528175592422
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 72.848854064941,
        "x": 263.08151245117
      },
      "part": "leftEar",
      "score": 0.84029853343964
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 79.956565856934,
        "x": 234.26812744141
      },
      "part": "rightEar",
      "score": 0.92544466257095
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 98.34538269043,
        "x": 399.64068603516
      },
      "part": "leftShoulder",
      "score": 0.99559044837952
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 95.082359313965,
        "x": 458.21868896484
      },
      "part": "rightShoulder",
      "score": 0.99583911895752
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 94.626205444336,
        "x": 163.94561767578
      },
      "part": "leftElbow",
      "score": 0.9518963098526
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 150.2349395752,
        "x": 245.06030273438
      },
      "part": "rightElbow",
      "score": 0.98052614927292
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 113.9603729248,
        "x": 393.19735717773
      },
      "part": "leftWrist",
      "score": 0.94009721279144
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 186.47859191895,
        "x": 257.98034667969
      },
      "part": "rightWrist",
      "score": 0.98029226064682
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 208.5266418457,
        "x": 284.46710205078
      },
      "part": "leftHip",
      "score": 0.97870296239853
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 209.9910736084,
        "x": 243.31219482422
      },
      "part": "rightHip",
      "score": 0.97424703836441
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 281.61965942383,
        "x": 310.93188476562
      },
      "part": "leftKnee",
      "score": 0.98368924856186
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 282.80120849609,
        "x": 203.81164550781
      },
      "part": "rightKnee",
      "score": 0.96947449445724
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 360.62716674805,
        "x": 292.21047973633
      },
      "part": "leftAnkle",
      "score": 0.8883239030838
    },
    {
      "position": {
        "y": 347.41177368164,
        "x": 203.88229370117
      },
      "part": "rightAnkle",
      "score": 0.8255187869072
    }
  ]
}

Multi-Person Pose Estimation

Multiple Pose estimation can decode multiple poses in an image. It is more complex and slightly slower than the single pose-algorithm, but has the advantage that if multiple people appear in an image, their detected keypoints are less likely to be associated with the wrong pose. Even if the use case is to detect a single person’s pose, this algorithm may be more desirable in that the accidental effect of two poses being joined together won’t occur when multiple people appear in the image. It uses the Fast greedy decoding algorithm from the research paper PersonLab: Person Pose Estimation and Instance Segmentation with a Bottom-Up, Part-Based, Geometric Embedding Model.

const net = await posenet.load();

const poses = await net.estimateMultiplePoses(image, imageScaleFactor, flipHorizontal, outputStride, maxPoseDetections, scoreThreshold, nmsRadius);

Inputs

• image - ImageData|HTMLImageElement|HTMLCanvasElement|HTMLVideoElement The input image to feed through the network.
• imageScaleFactor - A number between 0.2 and 1.0. Defaults to 0.50. What to scale the image by before feeding it through the network. Set this number lower to scale down the image and increase the speed when feeding through the network at the cost of accuracy.
• flipHorizontal - Defaults to false. If the poses should be flipped/mirrored horizontally. This should be set to true for videos where the video is by default flipped horizontally (i.e. a webcam), and you want the poses to be returned in the proper orientation.
• outputStride - the desired stride for the outputs when feeding the image through the model. Must be 32, 16, 8. Defaults to 16. The higher the number, the faster the performance but slower the accuracy, and visa versa.
• maxPoseDetections (optional) - the maximum number of poses to detect. Defaults to 5.
• scoreThreshold (optional) - Only return instance detections that have root part score greater or equal to this value. Defaults to 0.5.
• nmsRadius (optional) - Non-maximum suppression part distance. It needs to be strictly positive. Two parts suppress each other if they are less than nmsRadius pixels away. Defaults to 20.

Returns

It returns a promise that resolves with an array of poses, each with a confidence score and an array of keypoints indexed by part id, each with a score and position.

via Script Tag

<html>
  <head>
    <!-- Load TensorFlow.js -->
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tensorflow/[email protected]"></script>
    <!-- Load Posenet -->
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tensorflow-models/[email protected]"></script>
 </head>

  <body>
    <img id='cat' src='/images/cat.jpg '/>
  </body>
  <!-- Place your code in the script tag below. You can also use an external .js file -->
  <script>
    var imageScaleFactor = 0.5;
    var flipHorizontal = false;
    var outputStride = 16;
    var maxPoseDetections = 2;

    var imageElement = document.getElementById('cat');

    posenet.load().then(function(net){
      return net.estimateMultiplePoses(imageElement, 0.5, flipHorizontal, outputStride, maxPoseDetections)
    }).then(function(poses){
      console.log(poses);
    })
  </script>
</html>

via NPM

import * as posenet from '@tensorflow-models/posenet';

const imageScaleFactor = 0.5;
const outputStride = 16;
const flipHorizontal = false;
const maxPoseDetections = 2;

async function estimateMultiplePosesOnImage(imageElement) {
  const net = await posenet.load();

  // estimate poses
  const poses = await net.estimateMultiplePoses(imageElement,
    imageScaleFactor, flipHorizontal, outputStride, maxPoseDetections);

  return poses;
}

const imageElement = document.getElementById('people');

const poses = estimateMultiplePosesOnImage(imageElement);

console.log(poses);

This produces the output:

[
  // pose 1
  {
    // pose score
    "score": 0.42985695206067,
    "keypoints": [
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 126.09371757507,
          "y": 97.861720561981
        },
        "part": "nose",
        "score": 0.99710708856583
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 132.53466176987,
          "y": 86.429876804352
        },
        "part": "leftEye",
        "score": 0.99919074773788
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 100.85626316071,
          "y": 84.421931743622
        },
        "part": "rightEye",
        "score": 0.99851280450821
      },

      ...

      {
        "position": {
          "x": 72.665352582932,
          "y": 493.34189963341
        },
        "part": "rightAnkle",
        "score": 0.0028593824245036
      }
    ],
  },
  // pose 2
  {

    // pose score
    "score": 0.13461434583673,
    "keypoints": [
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 116.58444058895,
          "y": 99.772533416748
        },
        "part": "nose",
        "score": 0.0028593824245036
      }
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 133.49897611141,
          "y": 79.644590377808
        },
        "part": "leftEye",
        "score": 0.99919074773788
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 100.85626316071,
          "y": 84.421931743622
        },
        "part": "rightEye",
        "score": 0.99851280450821
      },

      ...

      {
        "position": {
          "x": 72.665352582932,
          "y": 493.34189963341
        },
        "part": "rightAnkle",
        "score": 0.0028593824245036
      }
    ],
  },
  // pose 3
  {
    // pose score
    "score": 0.13461434583673,
    "keypoints": [
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 116.58444058895,
          "y": 99.772533416748
        },
        "part": "nose",
        "score": 0.0028593824245036
      }
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 133.49897611141,
          "y": 79.644590377808
        },
        "part": "leftEye",
        "score": 0.99919074773788
      },

      ...

      {
        "position": {
          "x": 59.334579706192,
          "y": 485.5936152935
        },
        "part": "rightAnkle",
        "score": 0.004110524430871
      }
    ]
  }
]

Developing the Demos

Details for how to run the demos are included in the demos/ folder.