2024
Product Updates and Announcements 2024
- Text & HTML in Index & Annotate: Text files in various formats, including raw and single-extension HTML, are now supported in Index and Annotate. A new Ontology class for labeling text regions has been introduced, enhancing annotation capabilities and enabling advanced text labeling workflows.
- Audio Annotation: You can now label specific audio regions using a new Ontology class, enabling more complex workflows such as audio transcription using text attributes. This aligns audio annotations with other modalities, making workflows smoother and more cohesive.
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Editor Agents: Editor Agent JSON payloads now use the
application/jsoncontent type in their headers, enhancing compatibility with a wider range of server configurations. This update ensures smoother integration and reduces potential issues when handling JSON payloads in your workflows. - Active Project Import: Customers can now import and sync Projects into Active using the Encord SDK. This marks a significant step toward fully SDK-driven workflows.
- Filter Presets: Filter presets in Encord Active now have SDK support, simplifying SDK-driven workflows across Active and other Encord products.
- Encord US Deployment: The US-specific Encord App is now live! This deployment reduces app latency for US-based customers.
- Object Primitives: Object Primitives (Skeletons) have been redesigned for enhanced usability and efficiency. You can now place each skeleton point sequentially, eliminating the need to manually drag and adjust each point. This streamlines the process, making skeleton creation and adjustments faster and more intuitive. Additionally, the UI for marking points as invisible or occluded has been improved, making it easier to use and more discoverable. This enhancement ensures a smoother experience when labeling complex data.
- SDK Task Submission: The SDK now offers enhanced support for task management. You can assign and submit annotation or review tasks on behalf of other users, provided you have the required permissions.
- Audio Classification Support in SDK:Audio workflows are now supported in the SDK! You can programmatically view, import, and export classifications for audio files.
- Active Collections SDK Access: You can now work with Collections in Active using the SDK. Programmatically create, update (add/remove frames and labels), and list Collections to streamline your SDK workflows.
- Bulk Edit & Delete Labels in Active: Quickly make bulk changes to object and classification labels across Active and Annotate using Label Collections (distinct from Data Collections). This feature unlocks more efficient workflows for label QA and editing.
- Custom Embeddings in Active: Active now supports custom embeddings with dimensions ranging from 1 to 2000, empowering users to integrate and leverage their own embeddings seamlessly.
- Index SDK Code Snippets: Access SDK code snippets for Index Collections and Presets actions directly in-platform. This feature offers precise, context-specific guidance, simplifying SDK implementation for user-specific needs.
- Pre-Annotate before Consensus: You can now add other stages before a consensus stage in your Workflow. This can be used to, for example, allow pre-labels to appear within consensus tasks and provide annotators with a consistent starting point.
- Upload labels to Consensus stage: You can now upload pre-annotation labels as separate subtasks within a consensus stage, enabling streamlined comparisons. This feature is ideal for scenarios where multiple users’ labels are compared at the consensus stage, or when different model outputs are compared within a consensus workflow. This allows you to, for example, assign different pre-labels to annotators within a consensus task, or to upload and compare various model outputs as part of the consensus review process.
- Service Accounts: Customers can now create service accounts for programmatic platform access directly within their organization settings. Each organization is allotted one service account by default. If additional accounts are required, please reach out to your account manager.
- Unlimited URL Length for Source Media: The previous 300-character limit for video URLs (e.g., from AWS, GCP) has been removed, allowing unlimited URL length. This update supports even the longest pre-signed URLs, enhancing compatibility and ease of access for extended links.
- Active & Index Updates: Filters and workflows for adding files to collections in Active and Index have been redesigned for improved efficiency. Filters are now more compact, always visible, and workflows benefit from hotkey support, streamlining task handling and collection management.
- Multi-factor Authentication Enhancement: Users can now choose their preferred method for multi-factor authentication, selecting either an authenticator app for a Time-based one-time password (TOTP), or SMS.
- Project Completion Percentage Indicator: We’ve introduced a Project completion percentage indicator, which shows the percentage of tasks that have reached the “Complete” stage. This feature allows Project admins to quickly assess the status and progress of their Projects at a glance.
- Bulk Task Handling: Tasks within a single layout group, in custom editor layouts, now progress through the Workflow together. This means tasks are submitted, approved, rejected, skipped, or reopened as a unified group, ensuring efficient handling of related tasks. This enhancement is especially beneficial for RLHF workflows.
- Grouping Labels by Class: You can now group labels by class within single images and within a single frame view using the Group by class button in the Label Editor, streamlining the review and editing process for complex Ontologies.
- NIfTI Upload using SDK: The SDK now supports uploading NIfTI files directly from a local machine, making it easier to manage medical imaging and other NIfTI-based datasets.
- Multiple Branches per Data Unit: The SDK now allows the creation of multiple label row branches per data unit within a Project, providing greater flexibility for managing complex annotation tasks. This supports the prediction upload workflow for Encord Active.
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Encord Active: Prediction Upload Workflow:
- The label branch functionality can now be used to support prediction comparisons to ground-truth labels in Active.
- When importing or syncing a Project to Encord Active, all label branches are automatically imported, including any label branches that include predictions.
- In Encord Active, you can specify which prediction set to analyze, offering more control and flexibility when evaluating prediction results.
- Activity center: We are pleased to introduce the new Activity Center, which monitors your Organization’s activity. The activity center provides a detailed view of completed jobs and identifies the users who performed them, giving you greater insight into your team’s operations.
- Review Queue: The review queue now has a ‘Last Actioned’ column, allowing you to easily view and filter tasks by the user who last submitted them. This enhancement improves task assignment and management by providing better visibility into who created specific labels, making it easier to allocate tasks based on team activity.
- Custom Analytic Dashboards for Active and Index: You can now create custom analytic dashboards in Active and Index. You can add Distribution and Correlation cards with a number of display criteria.
- Collections and Preset Filter SDK: Index Collections and Preset Filters now both support programmatic use with Encord’s SDK.
- SDK Reference Updates:
- Similarity Search Filter: You can specify the “distance” between similar items using the Distance filter on similarity searches.
- Embedding Plots with Custom Embeddings: After “upgrading” your top-level Folder, you can view 2D embedding plots in Index. Go here for more information.
- Introducing Task Agents: Fully customizable components tailored to your needs, seamlessly integrated into your annotation and quality control workflows. Ideal for pre-labeling, automated reviews, model-in-the-loop functionalities, integrating foundation models, and other scalable automated tasks!
- Agents: Our new Agents interface in the Encord platform provides a centralized hub for Task Agents, Editor Agents, and Models.
- Annotation Instructions: The annotation instructions drawer in the Label Editor now allows annotators to view instructions while performing annotations simultaneously, increasing the efficiency and accuracy of annotators.
- Datasets: For customers with Files enabled, Datasets are now part of Annotate, highlighting their relevance and usage within Projects in both Annotate and Active.
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Expanded Audio Format Support: We expanded audio format support in Index to include
eac3andm4a. - SAM 2: SAM 2 has been available in Encord since July 31st, offering enhanced processing capabilities. To enable SAM 2, access Encord Labs. For access to Encord Labs, contact support at support@encord.com.
- COCO Label Imports: You can now effortlessly import labels / annotations in the COCO format using the Encord SDK.
- Audio file support for Index: Index now supports the curation and organization of your audio data.
- Custom embeddings in Index: Index now supports custom embeddings. You can now use your own embeddings to enhance the accuracy of data curation and organization.
- Re-index Index files: Re-index when you change indexing instructions such as which frames you need indexed. You do not need to re-index when changing custom metadata. Refer to our documentation for more information.
- Label Editor Customization: Configure custom label editor layouts that suit your needs for Projects. Custom label editor layouts are set using JSON files that are uploaded in the Project settings. Check out our documentation for more information.
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Encord provides boilerplate Workflow templates:
- Standard workflow: A Workflow template with a single Annotate and a single Review block.
- Double review workflow: A Workflow template that builds on the **Standard workflow ** template with a routing block and a second Review block.
- Consensus workflow: A Consensus Workflow template with a single Consensus (Review & Refine) block.
- Tie-breaker Consensus workflow: A Consensus Workflow template with two Consensus (Determine Consensus) blocks.
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Consensus - General Release: Consensus workflows are no longer in BETA. Consensus workflows have been battle-tested and are no longer in BETA. If you haven’t already, check out how Consensus Workflows can vastly improve your annotation workstream. Refer to our documentation for more information on Consensus Workflows. Consensus workflows now support
get_label_reviewsusing the SDK. This method returns Review tasks. Those tasks can then be approved/reopened/rejected.
- Improved Search UX: We’ve enhanced the search user experience within the Files section by allowing you to explicitly choose the scope of your search. You can now select whether you want to search within all folders or only specific folders.
- Global Search: The global search is now conveniently located in the left-hand side navigation menu.
- New Support Widget: We’ve introduced a new customer support widget with a fresh design that significantly enhances your overall user experience.
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Workflow TaskStatus: We have introduced a “status” field for Workflow tasks, indicating the current status of the task, such as
NEW,ASSIGNED, andRELEASED. You can now filter tasks using the “status” field in theworkflow_stage.get_tasks()call. To read more from the SDK reference material, go here and to learn how to filter tasks by status go here. -
Automatic Task Assignment: Tasks moved using Encord’s SDK are now automatically assigned to Tasks to the person executing the
task.submit(), streamlining task management and assignment processes.
NIfTI Support: We’ve introduced native support for Neuroimaging Informatics Technology Initiative(NIfTI) files in our Label Editor, expanding our capabilities for neuroimaging data.Auto-segmentation tracking for DICOM: Auto-segmentation tracking is now available for DICOM series, streamlining your workflow when labeling DICOM series. Use the ‘Shift + T’ keyboard shortcut to track an object across multiple slices.Label Copy/Paste Enhancement: Copying and pasting objects in the Label Editor now preserves the rotation of rotating bounding boxes, ensuring consistency when duplicating elements.Improved UX for Index: We’ve enhanced the user experience of the Files section by applying ascending order sorting by default for files in Folders. Additionally, we’ve added sorting options like ‘by name’ and ‘last modified’ for better file management.Cloud Integration Support: We’ve added more cloud storage integration options including Wasabi, MinIO, and Oracle’s cloud.
- Auto-Segmentation Tracking: We’ve introduced auto-segmentation tracking for both bounding boxes and rotatable bounding boxes. This enhancement is designed to speed up your workflow when tracking objects in videos using these shapes.
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Task Queue: You can filter tasks in the queue tab by all current exposed statuses, including
NEW,SKIPPED, andREOPENED. This feature provides greater flexibility, allowing users to precisely manage and prioritize tasks based on their specific status. -
Configure Workflow Stages:
- You can now configure ANNOTATE and REVIEW blocks to allow or prevent users from annotating or reviewing tasks they have previously worked on. Use the Advanced settings: Allow task reassessment feature in ANNOTATE and REVIEW blocks to configure the setting.
- Consensus ANNOTATE and REVIEW blocks no longer require you to assign users to those blocks. This means Consensus blocks now follow the same behavior as non-Consensus blocks.
- Quick Toolbar: Each tile in the DICOM label editor now includes its own quick toolbar.
- Admin Access Improvements: Organization admins can now join all Projects , Datasets , Ontologies, and Integrations directly from their respective sections, rather than through the Organization page.
- Card/Tile Redesign in Active: While in Grid view, you can choose details (metrics, custom metadata, Collection, title) to appear on each card/tile. This redesign enhances the data visibility for your cards/tiles.
- Predictions and Labels Displayed Together: We’ve improved the Predictions page by displaying ground-truth labels (labels from Annotate) with your prediction labels in Encord Active.
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Prediction Confidence Slider: Introducing the
Predictions Min Confidence Thresholdslider. The slider allows you to filter predictions based on their confidence level to help when optimizing your model performance. - Model Evaluation Enhancements: We have improved our model evaluation algorithms to provide more accurate model assessments.
- Infinite Paging: We’ve added infinite pagination to the Files , allowing for highly performant navigation and access to all your files without needing to click through multiple pages.
- SDK Workflow Support: Workflow support in the SDK for both Consensus and non-Consensus Projects. You can assign, approve, reject, submit, and release tasks in your Workflow Projects programmatically. Additionally, you can query tasks by stage in a performant manner. Refer to our SDK documentation for more information.
- Cloud Integrations In Organizations: Cloud integrations are now visible and manageable within the Organization interface. This update provides enhanced control and visibility over integration access.
- Index: We’ve streamlined the file upload process by automatically selecting newly created folders as the target for uploads. Additionally, we’ve made file tutorials easy to dismiss, hidden legacy “Mirrored” Datasets from the file browser, and exposed tutorials in the right-hand side panel of Files.
- Review and refine is now an option inside the Consensus REVIEW block. You can now choose between modes for the Consensus block: Refine and review and Determine consensus. Review and refine is the default mode.
- Workflow composer Enhancement: We have improved the Workflow composer with clearer prompts and queues to prevent losing progress while assembling templates.
- Review and Refine Consensus Labels: You asked and we delivered! Reviewers can now select the best labels from all annotators, using the REVIEW and REFINE block. Connecting the No consensus output of a CONSENSUS block to the input of a REVIEW block creates a REVIEW and REFINE block. From the REVIEW and REFINE block, reviewers can select the best labels from any annotator, in the Consensus block, for any object or frame.
- MFA: You can now require all members in your Organizations to turn on multi-factor authentication. Contact support@encord.com to get started with MFA!
- Cloud Integration Access: The new interface offers enhanced control and visibility over user access for each integration. You can now easily add and remove users from integrations, as well as seamlessly view which users are assigned to each cloud integration, ensuring precise management of access permissions.
- DICOM X-Axis Support: X-axis label support is now a reality when labeling DICOM series slices. Additionally, we’ve added the option for rendering DICOM slices in their original resolution, which is especially beneficial for work requiring high detail. While native resolution can demand more from system performance on longitudinal volumes, it remains the recommended viewing option for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBTs) and other single-slice modalities to ensure the highest quality imaging.
- Dynamic Attributes in Consensus: Dynamic changes incoming! Consensus Projects now feature dynamic attributes in the timeline and the left-hand menu of the Label Editor, enhancing both labeling and reviewing processes.
- Comments: The updated comments interface has been enhanced to remain visible during annotations, allowing you to view and interact with comments without disrupting your workflow. This new design simplifies the process of adding replies and viewing threads, significantly improving usability.
- Index: Action buttons have been introduced in the Files section to enhance visibility and discoverability, streamlining user access to functions from the right-click context menus.
- SDK Data Import: Troubleshooting file uploads is now straightforward with our new error API. Quickly access file URIs when issues arise during file uploads through the SDK.
- Task Queue Improvements: Enhancements to the task queue now ensure that the order of tasks in the Label Editor accurately reflects the sequence in the Queue tab, even when filtering. Additionally, you can better manage your tasks by organizing the queue by priority or task name, with options to sort in either ascending or descending order.
- Data Upload: We’ve simplified the data upload process in Index. Users can now add data directly from the Files section, or by specifying a folder in the Datasets section. This streamlined approach improves usability by eliminating preliminary attachment steps, making it more straightforward and efficient.
- Upgrading Mirrored Datasets: You can now seamlessly upgrade your mirrored Datasets to standard folders and Datasets in just a couple of clicks, enabling you to use your data units across multiple Datasets and organize your files into different folders.
- Persistent Auto-Segmentation in Label Editor: When auto segmentation is activated during annotation, remains enabled until it’s manually deactivated. This prevents the need for reactivation and provides a seamless annotation experience.
- Faster classification workflows: A new Label Editor setting enables you to automatically expand classifications. Enhanced hotkey support makes navigating through image classifications lighting fast.
- Strict Review: All review mode stages are now Strict review when setting up a new Workflow. This means all tasks will be stopped for review, even without labels. More information can be found in our documentation.
- Task Queue: The order in which tasks appear in the Label Editor now mirrors the order that tasks are listed in the Queue tab for annotators, even when filtering the task list. This functionality will soon be extended to include Review stages.
- Index UX Enhancements: We’ve implemented several UX enhancements to Encord Index. Storage has been renamed to Files, and synced folders are now mirrored folders, making the features more intuitive and accessible.
- Auto Segmentation Tracking: We’re thrilled to introduce our groundbreaking auto-segmentation tracking feature - allowing you to effortlessly track bitmask and polygon annotations across a range of video frames. It dynamically adjusts the shape of your labels in response to changes within the video, ensuring consistently high accuracy in your annotations!
- Consensus Workflows now support object labels: Objects are now supported in Consensus workflows. Simultaneously review all annotator submissions in one editor review session.
- Exporting Consensus Labels: You can now use the SDK to download labels made by all annotators in a consensus Project.
- **Study-Level Classifications:- Our latest UI update enhances the Label Editor, allowing you to apply classifications to an entire DICOM series or the whole study directly while viewing individual series. This streamlined functionality improves efficiency and usability, enabling a more intuitive interaction with your data.
- Auto Layouts: We’ve introduced new settings that enable you to configure auto layouts using standard hanging protocols for mammography files, significantly improving the efficiency of reviewing mammography images. Choose between 2x2 and 4x1 layouts with only a click of a button in the Label Editor settings!
- Full SDK Support for Object Primitives: The SDK now allows direct manipulation of object primitives, simplifying the import into, and export from Encord. This enhancement boosts workflow flexibility and efficiency, facilitating seamless integration and collaboration.
- 9x Faster Label Download Speed - We’ve fine-tuned the label downloading process, which is now up to five times faster, enabling you to download your labels more quickly. This significant speed increase streamlines your workflow, allowing you to focus more on analysis and less on waiting.
- Advanced Video Editor Timeline - General Release: We’re excited to announce that our advanced video editor timeline features, designed to streamline your workflow and enhance your editing efficiency! Enjoy the convenience of moving and merging instances directly on the editor timeline. You can also quickly see frame objects, and their attributes, just by hovering over them on the timeline.
- SDK Label Validation: You can now confirm the validity of your label structure before saving. This feature helps you identify and correct errors on the spot, preventing any downstream complications. Discover how to leverage the new parameters and error checking techniques in our SDK reference here!
Annotator Training Bitmask Support: Annotator training Projects now support bitmasks, enabling you to effectively train and assess your annotation team on the use of bitmasks for label creation.
- Bitmask Enhancements: You can now combine bitmasks using Label Editor V2, streamlining and improving your bitmask annotation process.
- DICOM Import Improvements: We’ve improved the import functionality for DICOM series imports to make them faster and more robust when importing very large series. We’re also now providing more comprehensive error messages for invalid DICOM series imports.
- Enhanced Video Support: You’re now able to annotate your h265 encoded mp4 videos natively in Encord. We’ve added support for h265 in mp4 containers for Chrome browsers, meaning you no longer need to re-encode your videos before importing them into Encord.
- Editor Settings: Searchable Label Editor settings let you customize the Label Editor with speed and with ease. Use the search bar to filter for the names of settings or use a keyword search to bring up related settings! In addition to a search bar, media dimensions can now be seen in the editor settings.
- Bitmask Enhancements: Panoptic mode provides an innovative approach to manage the overlap behavior of bitmasks, making it easier to draw multiple bitmask labels close to each other.
- Bitmask Performance: We’ve enhanced the performance of Bitmasks in the Label Editor, allowing you to create hundreds of Bitmask labels faster than ever before. ⚡
- DICOM HJT2K Support: Our platform now supports HTJ2K (High Throughput JPEG 2000), which enhances loading and rendering times. Ultimately this reduces the time required to annotate DICOM files.
- Downloading Models: Model weights can now be downloaded from Encord, allowing you to use your micro-models outside our platform.
- Label Editor Interface Improvements: The new editor menu in the top left corner of the Label Editor consolidates frequently used editor actions into a single, accessible location and reduces the chance of unintended clicks forcing you out of the Label Editor.
- Further Workflows Performance Enhancements: Large Workflow Projects have received a significant upgrade - actions such as loading tasks, and submitting annotations are now up to 5x faster! 🏎️
- DICOM MPR And Bitmask Annotation Enhancements: You can now annotate Bitmask labels in DICOM MPR views. Additionally, use the cylinder brush tool and control slice thickness to annotate in multiple slices at once from any DICOM view in a powerful step towards 3D labeling capability.
- Custom DICOM Overlay Support: Tailor the display of metadata in the Label Editor to conveniently access the information you need while annotating.
- SDK Label Exports: Our latest performance enhancements allow you to export labels from Encord using the SDK up to 20 times faster than before!
- Skip Annotation Tasks : Annotators can skip tasks when, for example, the file is blurred, or if they suspect the task was erroneously added. Comments are added to skipped tasks so other users can see the reason the task was skipped.
- Quickstart Help: New annotators and reviewers now have access to tailored tutorial videos in the Label Editor, designed to ramp up their introduction to Encord. These videos are available anytime for a convenient refresher, helping users recall essential information whenever needed!
- DICOM Metadata Viewer: Improved ability to accurately render private tags.
- Workflow Composer: We’ve polished our Workflow composer by improving the appearance of nodes and connections. This provides you with a more visually appealing and user-friendly experience when creating and editing Workflows.
- In-App Release Announcements: Release announcements now appear in our application! Now you can stay up to date with the latest developments in Encord.
- Streamlined Project Creation: Create projects faster and more intuitively on a single screen. Select workflows, use templates, and manage ontologies and datasets, all in one place! 🚀
- Highlight Data Integrations: Data integrations now appear in the main navigation, providing quick access and highlighting their importance in Encord.
- Improved Homepage: We’ve improved our landing page to guide you to the most important parts of the Encord platform as quickly as possible.
- Improved Review Workflow: Tasks rejected in a Review stage can now be moved to additional Review stages to serve as a tie-breaker. For access, reach out to support@encord.com.
- Performance Enhancements: Significant performance improvements ensure faster loading and processing of annotation and review tasks in Workflow projects, enhancing overall efficiency.
- Flexible Import and Polyline Support for CVAT: CVAT polylines can now also be imported into Encord, ensuring your CVAT polyline labels remain unchanged when you switch to our platform! Adapt your CVAT imports by mapping image file names with names found in the annotation XML, in cases when they don’t match exactly.