Title: Train your own custom image classifiers, object detectors, and object trackers. - PyImageSearch

URL Source: https://pyimagesearch.com/2015/02/04/train-custom-image-classifiers-object-detectors-object-trackers/

Published Time: 2015-02-04T15:00:38+00:00

Markdown Content:
[![Image 1: gurus_kickstarter_cat_dog_demo](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20600%20585'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1186001332/pyimagesearch-gurus-become-a-computer-vision-openc)

Did you watch the Super Bowl this past weekend?

I did. Kind of.

I spent Super Bowl Sunday (which is practically a holiday in the United States) at my favorite Indian bar.

Pounding Kingfisher beers.

Savoring a delicious dish of Tandoori chicken…

**_…all while hacking up a storm on my laptop and coding up some custom image classifiers, object detectors, & object trackers for the [PyImageSearch Gurus computer vision course](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1186001332/pyimagesearch-gurus-become-a-computer-vision-openc)._**

And oh yeah — the Super Bowl game was on in the background. Can’t say I watched much of it though, I was too busy with my nose in my laptop, looking like a deranged programmer! I’m sure it was a peculiar sight to see.

Anyway, I’m posting this article today because I wanted to share with you the results of my Indian beer fueled hacking binge…**a preview of the image classifiers, object detectors, and object trackers we’ll be building inside [PyImageSearch Gurus](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1186001332/pyimagesearch-gurus-become-a-computer-vision-openc).**

Let’s start off with something simple, training your own face detector:

[![Image 2: Inside PyImageSearch Gurus you'll learn how to train your own custom object detector to detect faces in images.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20600%20389'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://pyimagesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/gurus_face_detection_demo.jpg)

**Figure 1:** Inside PyImageSearch Gurus you’ll learn how to train your own custom object detector to detect faces in images.

Here you can see that I have trained my custom object detector using the Histogram of Oriented Gradients descriptor and a Linear SVM to detect faces from the cast of _Back to the Future_.

And here I have trained another custom object detector using Histogram of Oriented Gradients to detect the presence of a car in an image:

[![Image 3: Learn how to detect a car in an image inside the PyImageSearch Gurus course.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20294%20194'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://pyimagesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/gurus_car_detection_demo.jpg)

**Figure 2:** Learn how to detect a car in an image inside the PyImageSearch Gurus course.

Let’s do something a little more complicated now. In the below image I have trained a Pyramid of Bag of Visual Words (PBOW) and a Pyramid of Histogram of Oriented Gradients (PHOG) to recognize images from the popular CALTECH-101 dataset:

[![Image 4: Figure 3: Learn how to train an image classifier on the popular 101 category CALTECH dataset.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20599%20546'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://pyimagesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/gurus_ct101_demo.jpg)

**Figure 3:** Learn how to train an image classifier on the popular 101 category CALTECH dataset.

As another example, I have trained a classifier to tell the difference between Fido and Mrs. Whiskers on the ASIRRA Cats vs. Dogs dataset:

[![Image 5: Figure 4: You'll learn how to train a custom image classifier to recognize the difference between cats and dogs.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20600%20485'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://pyimagesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/gurus_cat_dog_demo.jpg)

**Figure 4:** You’ll learn how to train a custom image classifier to recognize the difference between cats and dogs.

Lastly, I utilized keypoint detection, local invariant descriptors, and keypoint matching to track the cover of a video game box in a real-time video stream:

[![Image 6: Figure 5: Training your own custom object tracker for use in real-time video is a breeze. Discover how inside PyImageSearch Gurus.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20600%20562'%3E%3C/svg%3E)](https://pyimagesearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/gurus_object_tracking_demo.jpg)

**Figure 5:** Training your own custom object tracker for use in real-time video is a breeze. Discover how inside PyImageSearch Gurus.

Really cool, right?

These techniques aren’t magic — and I guarantee that you can learn them yourself.

Join PyImageSearch Gurus before the door closes…
------------------------------------------------

As you can see, we’ll be learning a lot of actionable skills inside the PyImageSearch Gurus course. From custom image classifiers, to object detectors, to real-time object tracking, **you’re guaranteed to become a computer vision master** inside the PyImageSearch Gurus course.

So if you’re interested in uncovering these techniques and becoming a computer vision master, **_I would definitely suggest joining me inside PyImageSearch Gurus!_**

Once the Kickstarter ends you will not be able to enroll in PyImageSearch Gurus again until August! This is your chance! Be sure to get in now…

There are still a few seats left open in the PyImageSearch Gurus course, so definitely act now and [claim your spot!](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1186001332/pyimagesearch-gurus-become-a-computer-vision-openc)

![Image 7](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20410%20567'%3E%3C/svg%3E)

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#### **About the Author**

Hi there, I’m Adrian Rosebrock, PhD. All too often I see developers, students, and researchers wasting their time, studying the wrong things, and generally struggling to get started with Computer Vision, Deep Learning, and OpenCV. I created this website to show you what I believe is the best possible way to get your start.