Non-Linear Beam Model for Tracking Large Deformations

In this paper we investigate physics-based plane beam model, frequently used in mechanical and civil engineering, to track large non-linear deformations in images. Such models do not only contribute to robust and precise tracking, in the presence of clutter and partial occlusions, but also allow to compute the forces that produce observed deformations. We verify the correctness of the recovered forces by using them in a simulation and compare the results to the original image displacements. We apply this method to track deformations of the pole vault, the rat whiskers and the car antenna.