Model-based human body tracking

Visual tracking of human body movement is a key technology in a number of areas. In this paper we present a 2-D model-based method of human body tracking from a monocular video sequence. Morris & Rehg putforward a 2-D Scaled Prismatic Model (SPM) for figure registration which has far fewer singularity problems than 3-D models. Here we extend it in a 2-D cardboard human body model with additional one DOF of width change. We set up a mixture motion model for body movements and then solve body motion parameters using EM in a statistical framework, where the model-based kinematic constraints are incorporated in a linear form. Tracking results from real video sequences are encouraging.