h Zodiac Ego Road 

 Spec Document
Polygonannotation| Updated 4/1/2021
Contents

 Labels & Attributes Table 

 Annotation Rules
 Common Errors - Check for updates
 Glossary

Labels & Attributes Table

Labels - Nest 0

Ego Road Road

Debris

Hole
Annotation Rules
General Rules Description Example

Asphalt, gravel Road polygon should

and curbs extend to the edge of
the asphalt
Road polygon
should STOP before a
raised or level curb
Road polygon
should STOP before
gravel, sand, dirt,
grass, snow etc.

Minimum size There is NO minimum Do NOT annotate debris that is less than 20cm x 20cm
size.

 Any
debri
s on
the
road
whic
h is
less
than
20cm
x
20cm
does 
NOT 
need
to be
annot
ated
 as
“Deb
ris”

Polygon Annotations should

tightness generally follow the
barriers, roads, and
edges similarly to how
a human would see
these barriers.

Occlusion/Trun Example 1: The lowest part of trailers shall be annotated as a straight line
cation where the wheels are included.
Example 2: The trucks shall be annotated the same way as other vehicles like
buses or trailers. In case some wheels are elevated, the truck shall be
annotated as if the wheels were touching the road.
Ego Vehicle If any part of the ego
vehicle is present in
the bottom or sides of
the image, it shall be
annotated as void.
If any reflection of the
car/camera is present
in the image, it shall be
ignored.
                        
In the example image
we should note that
bus lanes shall be
annotated as “road”.
Sidewalk Do NOT annotate the
sidewalk, or any non-
drivable area
Do annotate sidewalks
that are designed as a
shared space between
cars and people (notice
how they are at surface
level)
Lack of If the visibility is not
visibility due to good due to snow or
snow/dirt other material
obstructing the road
side, and it is not
traversable, the
annotator shall follow
the snow or material
edge as illustrated on
the right side. →

Patches of If there are small

Snow patches of snow
occluding road, it shall
be annotated as Ego
Road
Manholes/Hole Manholes and holes on
s the ego road should be
ignored, meaning
pretend as if they are
transparent or not
there.

Poor visibility The general rule of Example 1:

annotating is that only
what you are sure is
“ego road” shall be
annotated as it. If it is
not possible to see
which or where is the
category you’re trying
to mark, it should be
 annotated as “void”.
                        
In example 2, we
cannot be 100% sure
that the left road is the
same as the one we are
driving. So, we do not
annotate it.

Example 2:

Tram/Bus Tram and bus lanes Example 1:

Lanes shall be annotated as
ego road unless they
are separated by a curb
or if they are below the
drivable surface.
                        
In example 1, the tram
lanes are separated by
a curb and a barrier.
In example 2, the tram
lanes are not separated
by a curb.
In example 3, the
tramp is below the ego
road drivable area and
should not be
annotated

Example 2:

Example 3:
 Labels & Attributes Description/Examples
Label Description Example
s-
Nest
0

Road Ego road is In the example image, the road is shown in green color.
defined as the
road surface on
which the ego
vehicle is
traveling,
including roads
that are
connected by
splits, merges,
entrances and
exits to this road.
Roads of
oncoming traffic
separated by a
barrier and other
roads not
connected to the
ego vehicle’s
road
should NOT be
annotated.
Driveways and
surrounding areas
should not be
annotated as ego- Do NOT annotate driveways
road
 !
Do annotate side roads and entries
Debri Debris is defined
s as objects on
road larger than
20x20x20 cm.
Smaller objects
than the measure
specified (like
plastic bags,
cups, paper, …)
should be
ignored and the
road should be
annotated as if
they were not
there.
Temporary
Barriers: If the
road is separated
by a temporary
barrier, such as
construction site
barriers, it is not
treated as a metal
railing barrier so
it should be
annotated
“Debris”as per
the image to the
right.

In the example image, the debris object is shown in yellow color.

These are NOT Debris:
Hole When annotating
a vehicle in the
middle of the
road, have the
polygon include
the vehicle and
use a hole
polygon around it
Hole polygons
should include
the underneath of
a vehicle
IMPORTANT: 
Make sure to link
the hole label to
the EgoRoad
polygon that it is
in.

Common Errors
Error Description Error Example (incorrect label)
Right border of the road
should extend until the
barrier pillars
The asphalt continues to
the barrier pillars, so the
label needs to extend to
the pillars

Left border of ego

road should not extend into
the gravel area.
Ego Road polygon needs to
end at the edge of the
asphalt.

The edge of the annotation

should not zigzag through
the grass area, should
follow the edge of the
asphalt
The right side of the ego
road annotation should
stop right before the
curb, we should not leave
part of the Ego road
unlabeled

The left side of the ego

road should not include the
raised curb. The annotation
should stop at the curb
The ego road should not
follow the lane marking, it
should follow the edge of
the asphalt
Make sure to label the ego
Road as close to de edges
of the uneven surface.
When the edge  is not
clear, raise or lower the
contrast 
 
Sidewalks that are designed as a
shared space between cars and
people (notice how they are at
surface level) should be part of
the ego road

Make sure to label  the path entries

and roads (drivable) connected to
de ego road

Glossary
Ego Car - The vehicle that is collecting the data & images seen in the task
Ego Road

 The road where the Ego Car is driving. Includes the shoulder, intersections, on/off-
ramps, and parking lot driveways.
 If there is a divider between the Ego Car and the other direction of traffic (ie. fence,
curb, patch of grass) the Ego Road is the part of the road in the same direction as the
Ego Vehicle
 If there is no divider, the Ego Road includes both directions of traffic`

        Edge of asphalt - edge of the paved drivable surface

TOOLING

Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool

 Make sure to enable the Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool under “Tools” when creating a

polygon alongside another if necessary

 The Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool is used so that polygons DO NOT overlap with each

other

 Polygons in this project should NEVER OVERLAP!

 Note: Always Disable the Auto Subtraction Tool when creating PolyLines!

 Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool Icon:

o Click on the Icon to enable & disable the Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool when

necessary
 Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool Disabled:

o Notice how the polygons are overlapping

o We DO NOT want polygons to overlap like this

o Should always be disabled when creating PolyLines

  Polygon Auto Subtraction Tool Enabled:

o Notice how the polygons are not overlapping

o Make sure to enable/disable the tool when necessary

LABELS

Ego Road - Road

 Ego road is defined as the road surface on which the ego vehicle is traveling, including

roads that are connected by splits, merges, entrances and exits to this road

 Roads of oncoming traffic separated by a barrier and other roads not connected to the

ego vehicle’s road should NOT be annotated

 If any part of the ego vehicle is present in the bottom or sides of the image, it shall be

annotated as void
 If any reflection of the car/camera is present in the image, it shall be ignored
 The lowest part of vehicles, trailers, trucks, & buses shall be annotated as a straight line

where the wheels are included

 This includes bus lanes and tram lines connected to the ego road as well

 Include any holes, manholes, small patches of snow, or other small/flat features of the

road
Ego Road - Road (cont.)
 The edge of the road could be a barrier, curb or any other flat/raised/lowered border

 In the example, in the left image, the edge of the road is a barrier, while in the right one,

the edge of the road is the grass

 Objects on road smaller than 20x20x20 cm should be ignored and the road should be

annotated as if they were not there

 Sometimes roads with barriers between the driving directions have emergency openings

or parking areas for emergencies

 In these cases, the edge of the ego road shall be extrapolated to the other side of the

opening
 Highway entry and exit ramps are annotated as ego road
Ego Road - Debris
 Debris is defined as objects on road larger than 20x20x20 cm & are shown in Yellow

color in the examples below

 Smaller objects than the measure specified (like plastic bags, cups, paper, …) should

be ignored and the road should be annotated as if they were not there

 The most common type of debris we can find are construction barriers
Steps to label debris
1. Identify debris on the road (If the answer is yes for the next
questions we can be sure it should be annotated as debris )
- The object is temporary obstructing the road ? (can the ego car run over it ?)
- Is it larger than 20x20x20 cm?
- Is it a construction barrier ?

Step 1 example

2. Labeling the debris

 Make sure to make the ego road polygon surround the debris on the places that overlap

with the road.

Step 2 example
3. Make the polygon around the entire object and label it as debris

Step example 3

Edge cases Debris

 Poles like these should not be marked unless they are in the middle of

the road. In this case, just mark around them for the ego road.
This is how it should have been annotated!

Ego Road - Holes

 When annotating a vehicle in the middle of the road, have the polygon include the vehicle

and use a hole polygon around it

 Hole polygons should include the underneath of a vehicle

 Be sure to link the hole(s) to the correct ego road ID as well

 Note: Not every vehicle needs to have a hole

o Only those that cannot be carved out from the ego road should have holes

When should we use the Hole label?

  Use the Hole label to annotate vehicles in the middle of the road that CANNOT be

avoided by the EgoRoad polygon.

 We MUST also link the Hole to the correct EgoRoad polygon

 Do NOT follow the bottom of the vehicle when annotating / Hole polygons should be

annotated as a straight line where the wheels are included.

 Hole polygons includes; Motorcycle and Bicycle with rider in the middle of the road.

 Static obstruction in the middle of the road will be considered as “Hole”

–See image below:

Examples of misusing HOLE annotations
An incorrect use of Hole label:

Here we can see the top left edge of the car is not overlapping the Ego Road , that is why it

should not be annotated

Link the Hole to the correct EgoRoad polygon
This is the CORRECT way to use the Hole label

 In the picture it can we can see that the four edges of the car (imagine it like a square)

are overlapping the Ego Road so it should be labeled as HOLE

Before linking the HOLE to the Ego Road, you must know which EGO ROAD
ID to link it.
Click the pencil icon on the right to choose which EGO ROAD ID to link with.

Select the correct ID to finish the link.

This is how it should look like.