Optical ow estimation for multi-channel video sequences

This paper presents a technique for multi-channel optical ow estimation. We combine the brightness constancy constraint with the relationship between optical ow elds and disparity elds in estimating optical ow elds by solving systems of linear equations. In this formulation, the so called round-about compatibility constraint is used to ensure the coherence between optical ow elds and to pin down the tangential components of optical ow vectors which are undiscernible from the rst order intensity derivatives. Since disparity information is used to assist optical ow estimation here, a reliable disparity eld estimator is required. The disparity elds are recovered using a Disparity Space Image (DSI) technique. We also discuss the sensitivity of this technique when the essential parallel-axes camera con guration assumption is violated. Experiments show that the technique is very promising for practical applications. keywords: optical ow, disparity, disparity space image, multi-channel video sequences, round-about compatibility