DEV Community

Cover image for Building ErgoVision: A Developer's Journey in AI Safety
Chidozie Managwu
Chidozie Managwu

Posted on

Building ErgoVision: A Developer's Journey in AI Safety

Introduction

Hey dev community! πŸ‘‹ I'm excited to share the journey of building ErgoVision, an AI-powered system that's making workplaces safer through real-time posture analysis. Let's dive into the technical challenges and solutions!

The Challenge

When SIIR-Lab at Texas A&M University approached me about building a real-time posture analysis system, we faced several key challenges:

  1. Real-time processing requirements
  2. Accurate pose estimation
  3. Professional safety standards
  4. Scalable implementation

Technical Stack

# Core dependencies
import mediapipe as mp
import cv2
import numpy as np
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Why This Stack?

  • MediaPipe: Robust pose detection
  • OpenCV: Efficient video processing
  • NumPy: Fast mathematical computations

Key Implementation Challenges

1. Real-time Processing

The biggest challenge was achieving real-time analysis. Here's how we solved it:

def process_frame(self, frame):
    # Convert to RGB for MediaPipe
    rgb_frame = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2RGB)
    results = self.pose.process(rgb_frame)

    if results.pose_landmarks:
        # Process landmarks
        self.analyze_pose(results.pose_landmarks)

    return results
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Accurate Angle Calculation

def calculate_angle(self, a, b, c):
    vector1 = np.array([a[0] - b[0], a[1] - b[1], a[2] - b[2]])
    vector2 = np.array([c[0] - b[0], c[1] - b[1], c[2] - b[2]])

    # Handle edge cases
    if np.linalg.norm(vector1) == 0 or np.linalg.norm(vector2) == 0:
        return 0.0

    cosine_angle = np.dot(vector1, vector2) / (
        np.linalg.norm(vector1) * np.linalg.norm(vector2)
    )
    return np.degrees(np.arccos(np.clip(cosine_angle, -1.0, 1.0)))
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. REBA Score Implementation

def calculate_reba_score(self, angles):
    # Initialize scores
    neck_score = self._get_neck_score(angles['neck'])
    trunk_score = self._get_trunk_score(angles['trunk'])
    legs_score = self._get_legs_score(angles['legs'])

    # Calculate final score
    return neck_score + trunk_score + legs_score
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Lessons Learned

  1. Performance Optimization
  2. Use NumPy for vector calculations
  3. Implement efficient angle calculations
  4. Optimize frame processing

  5. Error Handling

def safe_angle_calculation(self, landmarks):
    try:
        angles = self.calculate_angles(landmarks)
        return angles
    except Exception as e:
        self.log_error(e)
        return self.default_angles
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Testing Strategy
  2. Unit tests for calculations
  3. Integration tests for video processing
  4. Performance benchmarking

Results

Our implementation achieved:

  • 30 FPS processing
  • 95% pose detection accuracy
  • Real-time REBA scoring
  • Comprehensive safety alerts

Code Repository Structure

ergovision/
β”œβ”€β”€ src/
β”‚   β”œβ”€β”€ analyzer.py
β”‚   β”œβ”€β”€ pose_detector.py
β”‚   └── reba_calculator.py
β”œβ”€β”€ tests/
β”‚   └── test_analyzer.py
└── README.md
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Future Improvements

  1. Performance Enhancements
# Planned optimization
@numba.jit(nopython=True)
def optimized_angle_calculation(self, vectors):
    # Optimized computation
    pass
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Feature Additions
  2. Multi-camera support
  3. Cloud integration
  4. Mobile apps

Get Involved!

  • Star our repository
  • Try the implementation
  • Contribute to development
  • Share your feedback

Resources

Happy coding! πŸš€

Top comments (0)