David Harwood

Bio: David Harwood is an academic researcher from University of Maryland, College Park. The author has contributed to research in topics: Background subtraction & Hough transform. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 52 publications receiving 15080 citations.

Non-parametric Model for Background Subtraction

Abstract: Background subtraction is a method typically used to segment moving regions in image sequences taken from a static camera by comparing each new frame to a model of the scene background. We present a novel non-parametric background model and a background subtraction approach. The model can handle situations where the background of the scene is cluttered and not completely static but contains small motions such as tree branches and bushes. The model estimates the probability of observing pixel intensity values based on a sample of intensity values for each pixel. The model adapts quickly to changes in the scene which enables very sensitive detection of moving targets. We also show how the model can use color information to suppress detection of shadows. The implementation of the model runs in real-time for both gray level and color imagery. Evaluation shows that this approach achieves very sensitive detection with very low false alarm rates.

Real-time foreground-background segmentation using codebook model

Abstract: We present a real-time algorithm for foreground-background segmentation. Sample background values at each pixel are quantized into codebooks which represent a compressed form of background model for a long image sequence. This allows us to capture structural background variation due to periodic-like motion over a long period of time under limited memory. The codebook representation is efficient in memory and speed compared with other background modeling techniques. Our method can handle scenes containing moving backgrounds or illumination variations, and it achieves robust detection for different types of videos. We compared our method with other multimode modeling techniques. In addition to the basic algorithm, two features improving the algorithm are presented-layered modeling/detection and adaptive codebook updating. For performance evaluation, we have applied perturbation detection rate analysis to four background subtraction algorithms and two videos of different types of scenes.

Performance evaluation of texture measures with classification based on Kullback discrimination of distributions

Abstract: This paper evaluates the performance both of some texture measures which have been successfully used in various applications and of some new promising approaches. For classification a method based on Kullback discrimination of sample and prototype distributions is used. The classification results for single features with one-dimensional feature value distributions and for pairs of complementary features with two-dimensional distributions are presented.

W/sup 4/: Who? When? Where? What? A real time system for detecting and tracking people

Abstract: W/sup 4/ is a real time visual surveillance system for detecting and tracking people and monitoring their activities in an outdoor environment. It operates on monocular grayscale video imagery, or on video imagery from an infrared camera. Unlike many of the systems for tracking people, W/sup 4/ makes no use of color cues; instead, W/sup 4/ employs a combination of shape analysis and tracking to locate people and their parts (head, hands, feet, torso) and to create models of people's appearance so that they can be tracked through interactions such as occlusions. W/sup 4/ is capable of simultaneously tracking multiple people even with occlusion. It runs at 25 Hz for 320/spl times/240 resolution images on a dual pentium PC.

Multiresolution gray-scale and rotation invariant texture classification with local binary patterns

Abstract: Presents a theoretically very simple, yet efficient, multiresolution approach to gray-scale and rotation invariant texture classification based on local binary patterns and nonparametric discrimination of sample and prototype distributions. The method is based on recognizing that certain local binary patterns, termed "uniform," are fundamental properties of local image texture and their occurrence histogram is proven to be a very powerful texture feature. We derive a generalized gray-scale and rotation invariant operator presentation that allows for detecting the "uniform" patterns for any quantization of the angular space and for any spatial resolution and presents a method for combining multiple operators for multiresolution analysis. The proposed approach is very robust in terms of gray-scale variations since the operator is, by definition, invariant against any monotonic transformation of the gray scale. Another advantage is computational simplicity as the operator can be realized with a few operations in a small neighborhood and a lookup table. Experimental results demonstrate that good discrimination can be achieved with the occurrence statistics of simple rotation invariant local binary patterns.

Mean shift: a robust approach toward feature space analysis

Abstract: A general non-parametric technique is proposed for the analysis of a complex multimodal feature space and to delineate arbitrarily shaped clusters in it. The basic computational module of the technique is an old pattern recognition procedure: the mean shift. For discrete data, we prove the convergence of a recursive mean shift procedure to the nearest stationary point of the underlying density function and, thus, its utility in detecting the modes of the density. The relation of the mean shift procedure to the Nadaraya-Watson estimator from kernel regression and the robust M-estimators; of location is also established. Algorithms for two low-level vision tasks discontinuity-preserving smoothing and image segmentation - are described as applications. In these algorithms, the only user-set parameter is the resolution of the analysis, and either gray-level or color images are accepted as input. Extensive experimental results illustrate their excellent performance.

Face Description with Local Binary Patterns: Application to Face Recognition

Abstract: This paper presents a novel and efficient facial image representation based on local binary pattern (LBP) texture features. The face image is divided into several regions from which the LBP feature distributions are extracted and concatenated into an enhanced feature vector to be used as a face descriptor. The performance of the proposed method is assessed in the face recognition problem under different challenges. Other applications and several extensions are also discussed

Object tracking: A survey

Abstract: The goal of this article is to review the state-of-the-art tracking methods, classify them into different categories, and identify new trends. Object tracking, in general, is a challenging problem. Difficulties in tracking objects can arise due to abrupt object motion, changing appearance patterns of both the object and the scene, nonrigid object structures, object-to-object and object-to-scene occlusions, and camera motion. Tracking is usually performed in the context of higher-level applications that require the location and/or shape of the object in every frame. Typically, assumptions are made to constrain the tracking problem in the context of a particular application. In this survey, we categorize the tracking methods on the basis of the object and motion representations used, provide detailed descriptions of representative methods in each category, and examine their pros and cons. Moreover, we discuss the important issues related to tracking including the use of appropriate image features, selection of motion models, and detection of objects.