Using full motion 3D Flash LIDAR video for target detection, segmentation, and tracking

It is now the case that well-performing flash LIDAR focal plane array devices are commercially available. Such devices give us the ability to measure and record registered 3D point cloud sequences at video frame rates. For target detection and tracking applications this allows the processes of structure from motion or multi-view stereo reconstruction to be circumvented. This allows us to construct simple and robust real-time 3D detection and tracking systems. The goal of this work is to demonstrate for the first time a proof-of-concept system using a commercial 3D Flash LIDAR camera. The system will accomplish the detection, segmentation, and tracking of human sized objects using a combination of fundamental point cloud processing algorithms. With marginal refinement efforts the result of this work is directly applicable to perimeter surveillance and site security.