BoxDecode Decode Types

nodes::SimaBoxDecode converts raw detection-head tensors into detection results. It runs after model inference, applies the decode math for the selected model family, filters low-confidence boxes, runs NMS, and emits a tensor payload that starts with decoded boxes. Detection models can parse that payload as boxes; pose and segmentation models can also parse the keypoints or masks that follow the boxes.

For normal model-pack usage, prefer the Model-aware constructor. The model archive supplies the tensor order, layout, quantization, class count, resize metadata, and score-domain hints needed by the decoder. Your application usually only chooses the decode family and filtering thresholds.

Quick start

using namespace simaai::neat;

Model model("/path/to/yolov8_model.tar.gz");

auto boxdecode = nodes::SimaBoxDecode(
    model,
    BoxDecodeType::YoloV8,
    /* detection_threshold */ 0.25,
    /* nms_iou_threshold */ 0.45,
    /* top_k */ 100);

For standalone stage usage:

simaai::neat::stages::BoxDecodeOptions opt(simaai::neat::BoxDecodeType::YoloV8);
opt.detection_threshold = 0.25;
opt.nms_iou_threshold = 0.45;
opt.top_k = 100;

Arguments

Argument	Meaning
decode_type	Model family/head format, such as BoxDecodeType::YoloV8 or BoxDecodeType::YoloX. Required.
detection_threshold	Minimum score required to keep a detection. Use a model-appropriate value such as 0.25.
nms_iou_threshold	IoU threshold used by non-maximum suppression.
top_k	Maximum number of detections to keep. 0 uses the backend/model default.
original_width, original_height	Source image size for coordinate mapping when using the raw-geometry constructor.
model_width, model_height	Model input size override. With the Model constructor this changes spatial decode knobs, not the packaged tensor contract.
resize_mode_override	Use only when no upstream Preproc stage writes resize metadata and you need to specify stretch/letterbox/crop behavior explicitly.
decode_type_option	Advanced sub-layout selector. Leave as Auto for model-pack usage unless you know the exported head layout.

Inputs and outputs

Input: raw detection tensors from the model. The expected tensor shapes depend on the model family. With an MPK/model archive, Neat reads those details from the packaged contract.

Output: one BoxDecode tensor containing decoded detections. Detection models use the standard BBOX payload. Pose and segmentation models keep the same leading boxes and append their task-specific payload:

Model task	C++ helper	Python helper	Decoded tensors
Detection	decode_bbox(...)	pyneat.decode_bbox(...)	[N, 6] float32 boxes: x1, y1, x2, y2, score, class_id
Pose	decode_pose(...)	pyneat.decode_pose(...)	boxes [N, 6] and keypoints [N, 17, 3] float32: x, y, visibility
Segmentation	decode_segmentation(...)	pyneat.decode_segmentation(...)	boxes [N, 6] float32 and masks [N, 160, 160] uint8
SuperPoint	decode_superpoint(...)	pyneat.decode_superpoint(...)	keypoints [N,2], scores [N], descriptors [N,D]

Detection-display graphs can feed the result to SimaRender. Application code that only needs boxes can continue to use decode_bbox(...) on BoxDecode outputs.

SuperPoint

SuperPoint remains part of the BoxDecode product surface, but emits feature points rather than pretending that they are boxes. The minimal A65-default configuration is:

BoxDecodeOptions options{BoxDecodeType::SuperPoint};
options.superpoint.descriptor_output_dtype = TensorDType::Float32;

auto decoder = nodes::SimaBoxDecode(model, options);

Python uses the same defaults:

options = pyneat.BoxDecodeOptions(pyneat.BoxDecodeType.SuperPoint)
options.superpoint.descriptor_output_dtype = pyneat.TensorDType.Float32

decoder = pyneat.nodes.sima_box_decode(model, options=options)

A65V1 is the default profile. Select another profile explicitly when the model requires different numerical behavior; Neat does not infer behavior from tensor shapes or values:

Profile	When to select it	Production status
LightGlueV1	LightGlue-compatible detector, NMS, coordinate, and descriptor behavior	Supported
MagicLeapDemoV1	The pinned Magic Leap demo behavior	Supported
A65V1	Compatibility with the former A65 SuperPoint decoder	Supported; default
PaperBicubicV1	Reserved numeric ID for a future fully specified bicubic policy	Rejected until production-defined

Numerical behavior and output encoding are independent. For example, select A65 numerical behavior with the default V1 output:

BoxDecodeOptions options{BoxDecodeType::SuperPoint};
options.superpoint.profile = SuperPointProfile::A65V1;
options.superpoint.output_format = SuperPointOutputFormat::FeaturePointsV1;

The legacy byte layout is opt-in and has additional constraints:

options.superpoint.profile = SuperPointProfile::A65V1;
options.superpoint.output_format = SuperPointOutputFormat::LegacyA65InterleavedV0;
options.superpoint.descriptor_output_dtype = TensorDType::Int8;

SuperPointProfile::Auto first uses authoritative MPK superpoint.profile metadata. If neither the API, Model::Options.superpoint.profile, nor MPK supplies a profile, it resolves to A65V1. Neat never guesses a profile from tensor shapes, values, filenames, or downstream nodes.

When their public sentinel values are left unchanged, detection_threshold=0.0, top_k=0, nms_radius=-1, and border_margin=-1 resolve from the selected profile. A65V1 resolves to a threshold of 0.1, Top-K 600, NMS radius 4, and border margin 0. LightGlueV1 and MagicLeapDemoV1 use thresholds 0.0005 and 0.015, respectively; both use Top-K 600, NMS radius 4, and border margin 4.

nms_iou_threshold does not apply to SuperPoint; use the pixel-radius superpoint.nms_radius. The default output is the versioned FEATURE_POINTS_V1 structure-of-arrays payload. LegacyA65InterleavedV0 is an explicit migration format and requires 256-dimensional INT8 descriptors. Use decode_superpoint rather than decode_bbox or BoxDecodeResults.

Versioned MPK superpoint schema v1 records are fail-closed. They must name the profile, distinct detector and descriptor tensor IDs, a sha256: fingerprint with 64 hexadecimal digits, and the supported input representations raw-logits-65 and coarse-pre-l2. Schema 0 remains accepted only as a migration/manual record; omitted schema-0 representation fields are canonicalized to those two raw-input representations and recorded as defaults in diagnostics. Unknown schema versions or representation tokens fail contract compilation. If an API profile override conflicts with a fingerprint stamped for a different MPK profile, re-stamp the MPK for the selected profile; Neat does not discard or reinterpret that provenance.

BBOX wire payload

Detection decode emits one tensor tagged BBOX per input frame. That tensor is a rank-1 UInt8 byte buffer:

Field	Value
semantic.detection.format	"BBOX"
dtype	UInt8
shape	[N_bytes], where N_bytes is the packed buffer capacity from the model archive

The tensor shape is a byte count, not a detection count. The payload uses little-endian layout:

offset  size  content
------  ----  -------
  0      4    uint32  N = valid detections in this frame
  4     24    RawBox[0]
 28     24    RawBox[1]
  .      .      ...
  .      .    RawBox[N-1]
                   trailing bytes are padding and must be ignored

Each RawBox record is 24 bytes:

Offset	Size	Type	Field	Meaning
0	4	int32	x	Top-left x in source pixels.
4	4	int32	y	Top-left y in source pixels.
8	4	int32	w	Width in source pixels.
12	4	int32	h	Height in source pixels.
16	4	float32	score	Post-NMS confidence in [0.0, 1.0].
20	4	int32	class_id	Model-defined class id.

The matching Python struct format for one record is "<iiiifi".

Coordinates are in original-image pixels when upstream preprocessing metadata is present. They are not normalized to [0, 1] and are not expressed in the model's internal letterboxed input space.

When model.run returns raw heads

Some model routes return raw feature-map heads from model.run(...) instead of a decoded BBOX tensor. That is not a failed run. It means the model executed, but the route did not include BoxDecode at the point where you read output.

Use this rule:

• detections=... or a BBOX tensor: parse the packed BBOX payload or use the decode helpers.
• raw_output_heads=...: add a BoxDecode stage, inspect the model route, or consume the raw tensors with model-specific postprocessing.

Do not parse raw heads as boxes. The raw tensor layout depends on the exported model family and model archive contract.

Override contract

The model archive can provide defaults for decode type, thresholds, top_k, and source geometry. Runtime arguments override those defaults only when you pass a non-empty or positive value.

Runtime argument	Value passed	Behavior
decode_type	empty / Unspecified	Preserve model archive or route-planner inference where supported.
decode_type	concrete type	Override the decode family for this run.
original_width / original_height	0	Preserve packaged geometry or upstream preprocess metadata.
original_width / original_height	positive integer	Override source dimensions for coordinate mapping.
detection_threshold / score_threshold	0.0	Preserve packaged threshold.
detection_threshold / score_threshold	> 0.0	Override the score gate.
nms_iou_threshold	0.0	Preserve packaged NMS IoU.
nms_iou_threshold	> 0.0	Override NMS IoU.
top_k	0	Preserve packaged top-K.
top_k	> 0	Override the maximum kept detections.
num_classes	0	Use the class-head depth inferred from the MPK.
num_classes	positive integer matching the MPK	Use the explicit class count. This is required when the MPK cannot infer a split single-class head reliably.
num_classes	positive integer contradicting a YOLO26 MPK	Fail before pipeline construction and report both values. YOLO26 derives its grouped raw-head layout from the class depth, so this mismatch is a model contract error.
num_classes	positive integer for SSD or a pre-YOLO26 non-pose YOLO family	Preserve the existing explicit-override behavior. Pose decoders and SuperPoint retain their family-specific rules.

detection_threshold is the name used by the BoxDecode node/stage constructors. ModelOptions.score_threshold is the model-route option that feeds the same control.

Decode type mapping

API enum	Backend token	Typical model family
BoxDecodeType::Yolo	yolo	Generic YOLO-style heads
BoxDecodeType::YoloV5	yolov5	YOLOv5 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloV5Seg	yolov5-seg	YOLOv5 segmentation
BoxDecodeType::YoloV7	yolov7	YOLOv7 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloV7Seg	yolov7-seg	YOLOv7 segmentation
BoxDecodeType::YoloV8	yolov8	YOLOv8 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloV8Seg	yolov8-seg	YOLOv8 segmentation
BoxDecodeType::YoloV8Pose	yolov8-pose	YOLOv8 pose
BoxDecodeType::YoloV9	yolov9	YOLOv9 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloV9Seg	yolov9-seg	YOLOv9 segmentation
BoxDecodeType::YoloV10	yolov10	YOLOv10 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloV10Seg	yolov10-seg	YOLOv10 segmentation
BoxDecodeType::YoloV26	yolo26	YOLO26 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloV26Pose	yolo26-pose	YOLO26 pose
BoxDecodeType::YoloV26Seg	yolo26-seg	YOLO26 segmentation
BoxDecodeType::YoloV6	yolov6	YOLOv6 detection
BoxDecodeType::YoloX	yolox	YOLOX detection
BoxDecodeType::Ssd	ssd	Exact prepared SSD300, SSD-Mobile-300, SSD-Mobile-320, or SSDlite-Mobile-320 contract, selected from ordered head geometry
BoxDecodeType::SuperPoint	superpoint	SuperPoint detector and descriptor postprocessing
BoxDecodeType::Detr	detr	DETR-style transformer detection
BoxDecodeType::EffDet	effdet	EfficientDet detection
BoxDecodeType::RcnnStage1	rcnn-stage1	R-CNN proposal stage
BoxDecodeType::Centernet	centernet	CenterNet detection

BoxDecodeType::Unspecified is an unset sentinel and fails before runtime. SSD recipe identity is an internal Core contract (ssd300-v1, ssd-mobile-300-v1, ssd-mobile-320-v1, or ssdlite-mobile-320-v1), not another public decode type or backend token. Core resolves it before lowering, while the installed object decoder continues to receive its supported ssd family token and selects the corresponding fixed implementation from the already validated head geometry.

Choosing the right type

• If you are using a SiMa-provided or SiMa-compiled model pack, choose the BoxDecodeType that matches the model family and leave decode_type_option as Auto.
• If your detections are missing or all scores are unexpectedly low, first verify that the decode family matches the exported model head. YOLOX, YOLOv6, and YOLO26 use raw/logit-style heads and should not be treated like probability-only YOLO heads.
• If boxes are shifted or scaled incorrectly, check the image resize policy. Use resize_mode_override only when your graph does not have an upstream Preproc stage writing resize metadata.
• If you are authoring a custom model pack, ensure the archive describes the detection heads accurately: tensor order, logical shape, physical storage, dtype/quantization, score domain, class count, and any sliced outputs. Application code should not need to compensate for these details.

Shape and layout guidance

Different detection models expose different head layouts. Some use one tensor per feature-map level; others split boxes, objectness, classes, keypoints, or masks into separate tensors. Some model outputs are dense HWC tensors; others are packed or sliced by the compiler/runtime.

For model-pack flows this is handled by the packaged contract. For manually wired tensors, the key rule is: match the exported head format exactly. Do not choose a decode type based only on rank or channel count.

Advanced tensor-contract rules:

• YOLO-family decode types (Yolo, YoloV5, YoloV7, YoloV8, YoloV9, YoloV10, and segmentation/pose variants) expect either decoupled heads or packed heads that match the model family.

• Packed YOLO heads must keep class count and head depth consistent across feature levels.

• YoloV26 uses grouped raw l/t/r/b bbox heads plus class-score heads.

• Ssd is not a generic SSD decoder. It resolves exactly four prepared profiles from the complete ordered loc/conf H/W/C signature at compile time. Any other head set or order is rejected with an error that prints the observed and supported signatures:

  • SSD300 (dboxes300_coco): 300×300 input, feature maps {38,19,10,5,3,1}, priors-per-cell {4,6,6,6,4,4}, confidence channel order class*A + anchor, class scores via softmax over the class dimension (background at index 0 included).
  • SSD-Mobile-300-v1 (ssd_anchor_generator): 300×300 input, feature maps {19,10,5,3,2,1}, priors-per-cell {3,6,6,6,6,6}, confidence channel order anchor*C + class, class scores via per-class sigmoid (background ignored).
  • SSD-Mobile-320-v1 (ssd_anchor_generator): 320×320 input, feature maps {20,10,5,3,2,1}, priors-per-cell {3,6,6,6,6,6}, confidence channel order anchor*C + class, class scores via per-class sigmoid (background ignored).
  • SSDlite-Mobile-320-v1 (TorchVision DefaultBoxGenerator): 320×320 input, feature maps {20,10,5,3,2,1}, six priors per cell at every level, localization order anchor*4 + {dx,dy,dw,dh}, confidence order anchor*C + class, and class scores via softmax over all 91 classes including background.

  All recipes use grouped per-level localization heads (depth = 4 * priors-per-cell) paired with class-confidence heads (depth = num_classes * priors-per-cell), FasterRcnnBoxCoder variance scaling (scale_xy 0.1, scale_wh 0.2), and a stretch (anisotropic) preprocessing resize. The score activation is fixed by the recipe (matching the on-device decoder), and the grouped-by-role layout is selected automatically — leave decode_type_option as Auto. A non-grouped layout token is rejected.

  The model frame is part of the profile, not just the head geometry. SSD300-v1 and SSD-Mobile-300-v1 require 300×300; both 320-v1 profiles require 320×320. A resolved preprocess resize target or model-dimension override of any other size is rejected at build time, because the prior tables and the stretch back-projection are only valid at that frame.

  Raw/standalone SimaBoxDecode construction never invents a resize mode. Keep the upstream Preproc metadata requirement, or use the explicit raw overload to assert externally performed ResizeMode::Stretch; Letterbox and Crop are rejected.

  num_classes contract. The encoded class count is always derived from the confidence-head depth (conf_depth / priors-per-cell, background at index 0 included). SSD300-v1 permits a contiguous prefix selection such as the prepared 81-to-8 route; the other three profiles require the exact encoded count. An invalid selection is rejected at build time. Leave it unset to use the profile default.

• Detr infers class channels from the maximum head depth and requires a valid class dimension.

• EffDet, RcnnStage1, and Centernet use their model-family contracts; do not route them through a YOLO decode type.

• *-seg decode types produce box-leading output plus task-specific mask data.

If a custom model pack does not match either complete ordered signature, prepare a new explicitly supported profile rather than weakening the matcher.

Python note

When configuring model options from Python, use the typed enum rather than a string when available:

opt = pyneat.ModelOptions()
opt.decode_type = pyneat.BoxDecodeType.YoloV8

Parse outputs with the helper that matches the model task:

outputs = model.run([image])

boxes = pyneat.decode_bbox(outputs)[0].to_numpy()

pose = pyneat.decode_pose(outputs)[0]
pose_boxes = pose.boxes.to_numpy()
keypoints = pose.keypoints.to_numpy()

seg = pyneat.decode_segmentation(outputs)[0]
seg_boxes = seg.boxes.to_numpy()
masks = seg.masks.to_numpy()