Real-time Image Processing with Azure Functions and Azure Blob Storage

 

Image processing is a critical component of many applications, from social media to healthcare. However, processing large volumes of image data can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use Azure Functions and Azure Blob Storage to create a real-time image processing pipeline that can handle large volumes of data with scalability and flexibility.

 

Prerequisites

Before we get started, you'll need to have the following:

 

1.       An Azure account

2.       Visual Studio Code

3.       Azure Functions extension for Visual Studio Code

4.       Azure Blob Storage extension for Visual Studio Code

Creating the Azure Functions App

The first step is to create an Azure Functions app. In Visual Studio Code, select the Azure Functions extension and choose "Create New Project". Follow the prompts to choose your programming language and runtime.

 

Once your project is created, you can create a new function by selecting the "Create Function" button in the Azure Functions Explorer. Choose the Blob trigger template to create a function that responds to new files added to Azure Blob Storage.

 

In this example, we'll create a function that recognizes objects in images using Azure Cognitive Services. We'll use the Cognitive Services extension for Visual Studio Code to connect to our Cognitive Services account.

 

Creating the Azure Blob Storage Account

Next, we'll create an Azure Blob Storage account to store our image data. In the Azure portal, select "Create a resource" and search for "Blob Storage". Choose "Storage account" and follow the prompts to create a new account.

 

Once your account is created, select "Containers" to create a new container for your image data. Choose a container name and access level, and select "Create". You can now add images to your container through the Azure portal or through your Azure Functions app.

 

Connecting the Azure Functions App to Azure Cognitive Services

To connect your Azure Functions app to Azure Cognitive Services, you'll need to add the Cognitive Services extension to your project. In Visual Studio Code, select the Extensions icon and search for "Azure Cognitive Services". Install the extension and reload Visual Studio Code.

 

Next, open your function code and add the following code to your function:

const { ComputerVisionClient } = require("@azure/cognitiveservices-computervision");
const { BlobServiceClient } = require("@azure/storage-blob");

module.exports = async function (context, myBlob) {
    const endpoint = process.env["ComputerVisionEndpoint"];
    const key = process.env["ComputerVisionKey"];
    const client = new ComputerVisionClient({ endpoint, key });
    
    const blobEndpoint = process.env["BlobEndpoint"];
    const blobKey = process.env["BlobKey"];
    const blobServiceClient = BlobServiceClient.fromConnectionString(`BlobEndpoint=${blobEndpoint};BlobAccessKey=${blobKey}`);
    const containerClient = blobServiceClient.getContainerClient("mycontainer");
    
    const buffer = myBlob;
    
    const result = await client.analyzeImageInStream(buffer, { visualFeatures: ["Objects"] });
    
    const blobName = context.bindingData.name;
    const blobClient = containerClient.getBlockBlobClient(blobName);
    const metadata = { tags: result.objects.map(obj => obj.objectProperty) };
    await blobClient.setMetadata(metadata);
}

This code connects to your Azure Cognitive Services account and creates a new ComputerVisionClient object. It also connects to your Blob Storage account and retrieves the image data from the blob trigger.

 

The code then uses the Computer Vision API to analyze the image and extract any objects it detects. It adds these object tags to the image metadata and saves the updated metadata to Blob Storage.

 

Testing the Image Processing Pipeline

Now that our image processing pipeline is set up, we can test it by uploading an image to our Blob Storage container. The function should automatically trigger and process the image, adding object tags to the metadata.

 

To view the updated metadata, select the image in the Azure portal and choose "Properties". You should see a list of object tags extracted from the image.