Hierarchical MRF model for model-based multi-object tracking

in Proc. IEEE Int’l Conf. on Image Processing 2001, Thessaloniki, Greece To track multiple objects, top-down (model-based methods) and bottom-up (multi-layer analysis) methods have been proposed separately. In this paper, a hierarchical MRF model is proposed to integrate these two trends into a MAP framework for tracking non-rigid objects such as human hands or faces. Parametric models of color, shape and frame difference for both foreground and background are given. Dynamic constraints are used to update the observation models and present an initial segmentation for the new frame. A novel hierarchical MRF model is proposed to efficiently refine the segmentation based on local smoothness constraints. The algorithm does not need to initialize and can detect new moving objects and track them. It can also handle the stopped objects because of the utilization of spatial-temporal constraints. Promising results are reported in this paper.