Feature Point Tracking for Incomplete Trajectories

A new algorithm is presented for feature point based motion tracking in long image sequences. Dynamic scenes with multiple, independently moving objects are considered in which feature points may temporarily disappear, enter and leave the view field. This situation is typical for surveillance and scene monitoring applications. Most of the existing approaches to feature point tracking have limited capabilities in handling incomplete trajectories, especially when the number of points and their speeds are large, and trajectory ambiguities are frequent. The proposed algorithm was designed to efficiently resolve these ambiguities. Correspondences between moving points are established in a competitive linking process that develops as the trajectories grow. Appearing and disappearing points are treated in a natural way as the points that do not link. The proposed algorithm compares favorably to efficient alternative algorithms selected and tested in a performance evaluation study. Received: June 8, 1998; revised November 18, 1998