Multi-appearance segmentation and extended 0-1 programming for dense small object tracking

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 31;13(10):e0206168. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206168. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Aiming to address dense small object tracking, we propose an image-to-trajectory framework including tracking and detection, where Track-Oriented Multiple Hypothesis Tracking(TOMHT) is revised for tracking. Unlike common cases of multi-object tracking, merged detections and the greater number of objects make dense small object tracking a more challenging problem. Firstly, we handle frequent merged detections through the aspects of detection and hypothesis selection. To tackle merged detection, we revise Local Contrast Method(LCM) and propose a multi-appearance variant, which exploits tree-like topological information and realizes one threshold for one object. Meanwhile, one-to-many constraint is employed via the proposed extended 0-1 programming, which enables hypothesis selection to handle track exclusions caused by merged detections. Secondly, to alleviate the high complexity caused by dense objects, we consider batch optimization and more rigorous and precise pruning technologies. Specifically, we propose autocorrelation based motion score test and two-stage hypotheses pruning. Experimental results are presented to verify the strength of our methods, which indicates speed and performance advantages of our tracker.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Motion*
  • Video Recording

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National R&D Program for Major Research Instruments (Grant No.61727802), by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61703209) and by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2014M561654). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.