Image Tracking Algorithm using Template Matching and PSNF-m

The template matching method is used as a simple method to track objects or patterns that we want to search for in the input image data from image sensors. It recognizes a segment with the highest correlation as a target. The concept of this method is similar to that of SNF (Strongest Neighbor Filter) that regards the measurement with the highest signal intensity as target-originated among other measurements. The SNF assumes that the strongest neighbor (SN) measurement in the validation gate originates from the target of interest and the SNF utilizes the SN in the update step of a standard Kalman filter (SKF). The SNF is widely used along with the nearest neighbor filter (NNF), due to computational simplicity in spite of its inconsistency of handling the SN as if it is the true target. Probabilistic Strongest Neighbor Filter for m validated measurements (PSNF-m) accounts for the probability that the SN in the validation gate originates from the target while the SNF assumes at any time that the SN measurement is target-originated. It is known that the PSNF-m is superior to the SNF in performance at a cost of increased computational load. In this paper, we suggest an image tracking algorithm that combines the template matching and the PSNF-m to estimate the states of a tracked target. Computer simulation results are included to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm in comparison with other algorithms.