Kernel-Bayesian framework for object tracking

Abstract

This paper proposes a general Kernel-Bayesian framework for object tracking. In this framework, the kernel based method-mean shift algorithm is embedded into the Bayesian framework seamlessly to provide a heuristic prior information to the state transition model, aiming at effectively alleviating the heavy computational load and avoiding sample degeneracy suffered by the conventional Bayesian trackers. Moreover, the tracked object is characterized by a spatial-constraint MOG (Mixture of Gaussians) based appearance model, which is shown more discriminative than the traditional MOG based appearance model. Meantime, a novel selective updating technique for the appearance model is developed to accommodate the changes in both appearance and illumination. Experimental results demonstrate that, compared with Bayesian and kernel based tracking frameworks, the proposed algorithm is more efficient and effective. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.