Video tracking

Video tracking is the process of locating a moving object (or multiple objects) over time using a camera. It has a variety of uses, some of which are: human-computer interaction, security and surveillance, video communication and compression, augmented reality, traffic control, medical imaging and video editing. Video tracking can be a time-consuming process due to the amount of data that is contained in video. Adding further to the complexity is the possible need to use object recognition techniques for tracking, a challenging problem in its own right. The objective of video tracking is to associate target objects in consecutive video frames. The association can be especially difficult when the objects are moving fast relative to the frame rate. Another situation that increases the complexity of the problem is when the tracked object changes orientation over time. For these situations video tracking systems usually employ a motion model which describes how the image of the target might change for different possible motions of the object. Examples of simple motion models are: When tracking planar objects, the motion model is a 2D transformation (affine transformation or homography) of an image of the object (e.g. the initial frame). When the target is a rigid 3D object, the motion model defines its aspect depending on its 3D position and orientation. For video compression, key frames are divided into macroblocks. The motion model is a disruption of a key frame, where each macroblock is translated by a motion vector given by the motion parameters. The image of deformable objects can be covered with a mesh, the motion of the object is defined by the position of the nodes of the mesh. To perform video tracking an algorithm analyzes sequential video frames and outputs the movement of targets between the frames. There are a variety of algorithms, each having strengths and weaknesses. Considering the intended use is important when choosing which algorithm to use.