Binocular tracking based on virtual horopters

This paper presents a stereo active vision system which performs tracking tasks on smoothly moving objects in complex backgrounds. Dynamic control of the vergence angle adapts the horopter geometry to the target position and allows to pick it up easily on the basis of stereoscopic disparity features. We introduce a novel vergence control strategy based on the computation of “virtual horopters” to track a target movement generating rapid changes of disparity. The control strategy is implemented on a binocular head, whose right and left pan angles are controlled independently. Experimental results of gaze holding on a smoothly moving target translating and rotating in a complex surrounding demonstrate the efficiency of the tracking system