Bidirectional tracking using trajectory segment analysis

In this paper, we present a novel approach to keyframe-based tracking, called bi-directional tracking. Given two object templates in the beginning and ending keyframes, the bi-directional tracker outputs the MAP (maximum a posterior) solution of the whole state sequence of the target object in the Bayesian framework. First, a number of 3D trajectory segments of the object are extracted from the input video, using a novel trajectory segment analysis. Second, these disconnected trajectory segments due to occlusion are linked by a number of inferred occlusion segments. Last, the MAP solution is obtained by trajectory optimization in a coarse-to-fine manner. Experimental results show the robustness of our approach with respect to sudden motion, ambiguity, and short and long periods of occlusion.