Atwood's Talk on the Lab meeing(Sep. 7): Integrated Person Tracking Using Stereo, Color and Pattern Detection

Title: Integrated Person Tracking Using Stereo, Color and Pattern Detection

Abstract: We present an approach to real-time person tracking in crowded and/or unknown environments using
integration of multiple visual modalities.We combine stereo, color, and face detection modules into a single robust
system, and show an initial application in an interactive, face-responsive display. Dense, real-time stereo processing
is used to isolate users from other objects and people in the background. Skin-hue classification identifies and tracks
likely body parts within the silhouette of a user. Face pattern detection discriminates and localizes the face within
the identified body parts. Faces and bodies of users are tracked over several temporal scales: short-term (user stays
within the field of view), medium-term (user exits/reenters within minutes), and long term (user returns after hours
or days). Short-term tracking is performed using simple region position and size correspondences, while medium
and long-term tracking are based on statistics of user appearance. We discuss the failure modes of each individual
module, describe our integration method, and report results with the complete system in trials with thousands of users.

Source: International Journal of Computer Vision 37(2), 175–185, 2000 or
International Conference on Computer Vision, 1998