A novel supervised level set method for non-rigid object tracking

We present a novel approach to non-rigid object tracking based on a supervised level set model (SLSM). In contrast with conventional level set models, which emphasize the intensity consistency only and consider no priors, the curve evolution of the proposed SLSM is object-oriented and supervised by the specific knowledge of the target we want to track. Therefore, the SLSM can ensure a more accurate convergence to the target in tracking applications. In particular, we firstly construct the appearance model for the target in an on-line boosting manner due to its strong discriminative power between objects and background. Then the probability of the contour is modeled by considering both the region and edge cues in a Bayesian manner, leading the curve converge to the candidate region with maximum likelihood of being the target. Finally, accurate target region qualifies the samples fed the boosting procedure as well as the target model prepared for the next time step. Positive decrease rate is used to adjust the learning pace over time, enabling tracking to continue under partial and total occlusion. Experimental results on a number of challenging sequences validate the effectiveness of the technique.