Real-time tracking of surfaces with structured light

At Oxford University much research has recently been focused on active vision, and in particular dynamic contours. These deformable model curves are able to track objects in an image using dynamic models of the behaviour of the target which can be learnt over time. It seems natural to extend these methodologies to investigate the problem of measuring surfaces (rather than contours) undergoing motion. The range sensor developed by the authors allows them to measure moving scenes, by requiring just a single image to measure depth unambiguously even in the presence of occlusion. By acquiring range data at frame rates from the sensor, they can develop real time 3D surface trackers. Their work looks at several key areas of dynamic model based tracking. The aim is to apply this to the tracking of a flexing hand. Already the surface contour is capable of tracking continuous surfaces in real time, such as a piece of paper as it flexes