Remote tracking system and method for image object region using image-backward search

• US 8,854,473 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2011
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Shih, Ming-Yu, Wu, I-Wei, Yang, Sung-Fei, Nien, Chin-Chung
• Primary Examiner(s): Torrente, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): SUH, JOSEPH JINWOO
• Application Number:
  US13/025,326
• Publication Number:
  US 20120133778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,334 Days
• Field of Search: 348/169
• US Class Current: 348/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10032 Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20104 Interactive definition of region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30184 Infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/248 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

In one exemplary embodiment, an object region tracking and picturing module is constructed on a moving platform of a mobile end and a remote control module is constructed on another platform for an image object region tracking system. The two modules communicate with each other via a digital network for delivering required information. The object region tracking and picturing module uses a real-time image backward search technology to store at least an image frame previously captured on the moving platform into a frame buffer, and start tracking an object region from the position pointed out by the remote control module to a newest image frame captured on the moving platform, then find out a relative position on the newest image frame for the tracked object region.

Claims

1. A tracking system for image object region, comprising:

an object region tracking and picturing module constructed on a moving platform of a mobile end, said object region tracking and picturing module is a part of the moving platform; and

a remote control module constructed on another platform, said remote control module communicating with said object region tracking and picturing module via a digital network for transmitting required information;

wherein said object region tracking and picturing module uses a real-time image backward search technique to store at least an image frame previously captured on said moving platform into a frame buffer, and starts to track an object region from a position selected by said remote control module, and finds out a relative position on a newest image frame captured by said moving platform for said tracked object region;

wherein both said object region tracking and picturing module and said remote control module have a data communication device to transmit information required by said object region tracking and picturing module and said remote control module via said digital network; and

said system further includes

a buffer frame controller to reduce a memory requirement of said buffer frame by determining replaceability of image frames based at least partly on a repetition rate of the image frames,

a time counter and a frame difference counter to perform detection for automatic termination of object region tracking, and

said frame buffer and an image sensor, and said at least an image is extracted from said image sensor and stored in said frame buffer;

wherein said determining replaceability is further based at least partly on determining a percentage of a first frame that will also appear in a second frame, and if the percentage is determined to be higher than a certain percentage, the first frame is determined to be replaceable by the second frame.

2. The tracking system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame buffer is a first-in-first-out queue.

3. The tracking system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said another platform is a ground control station.

4. A tracking method for image object region applicable to an object tracking system, said method comprising:

storing at least an image frame previously captured on a moving platform into a frame buffer by using a real-time image backward search technique;

starting to track an object region from a position selected by a remote control module via said at least an image frame stored in said frame buffer;

finding out a relative position on a newest image frame captured by said moving platform for said tracked object region;

managing said frame buffer, and determining image frame replaceability to reduce a memory requirement of said frame buffer; and

performing detection for automatic termination of object region tracking based on time spent on tracking said object region and number of frames in difference between image frame currently processed and image frame currently captured;

wherein said real-time image backward search technique includes;

capturing an image frame and storing to said frame buffer;

transmitting said image frame in real-time to said remote control module;

said remote control module selecting an object region in said image frame;

said remote control module transmitting an image frame index and coordinates of said object region in said image frame back to a frame buffer controller; and

said frame buffer controller notifying a tracking device on said moving platform to start tracking from said image frame to said newest image currently captured by said moving platform;

wherein said determining image frame replaceability is to find and remove an image frame with repetition higher than a threshold to reduce a memory requirement of said frame buffer;

wherein when number of images frames stored in said frame buffer is larger than space of said frame buffer, the image frame stored in said frame buffer at the earliest time is removed from said frame buffer; and

wherein said determining replaceability is further based at least partly on determining a percentage of a first frame that will also appear in a second frame, and if the percentage is determined to be higher than a certain percentage, the first frame is determined to be replaceable by the second frame.