Context-aware tracking of moving objects for distance keeping

We propose a robust object tracking algorithm for distance keeping. Taking advantage of a context-based region of interest, we are able to maximize the performance of each sensor, and reduce the computation time since we only focus on the targets inside the region. Tracking targets in road coordinates enables finding the distance-keeping target on any curved road, while a commercial Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system works best on straight roads. We demonstrate that the overall performance of the proposed algorithm is better than that of a commercial ACC system. The distance-keeping target can either be used for lane following for a standalone ACC system or an autonomous vehicle. Our object tracking algorithm can also be extended to find the target of interest for lane changing or ramp merging for an autonomous vehicle.