A labeled random finite set online multi-object tracker for video data

Abstract

This paper proposes an online multi-object tracking algorithm for image observations using a top-down Bayesian formulation that seamlessly integrates state estimation, track management, handling of false positives, false negatives and occlusion into a single recursion. This is achieved by modeling the multi-object state as labeled random finite set and using the Bayes recursion to propagate the multi-object filtering density forward in time. The proposed filter updates tracks with detections but switches to image data when detection loss occurs, thereby exploiting the efficiency of detection data and the accuracy of image data. Furthermore the labeled random finite set framework enables the incorporation of prior knowledge that detection loss in the middle of the scene are likely to be due to occlusions. Such prior knowledge can be exploited to improve occlusion handling, especially long occlusions that can lead to premature track termination in on-line multi-object tracking. Tracking performance is compared to state-of-the-art algorithms on synthetic data and well-known benchmark video datasets.