Real-Time Front Vehicle Detection Algorithm Based on Local Feature Tracking Method

This paper proposes an algorithm that extracts features of back side of the vehicle and detects the front vehicle in real-time by local feature tracking of vehicle in the continuous images.The features in back side of the vehicle are vertical and horizontal edges,shadow and symmetry.By comparing local features using the fixed window size,the features in the continuous images are tracked.A robust and fast Haarlike mask is used for detecting vertical and horizontal edges,and shadow is extracted by histogram equalization,and the sliding window method is used to compare both side templates of the detected candidates for extracting symmetry.The features for tracking are vertical edges,and histogram is used to compare location of the peak and magnitude of the edges.The method using local feature tracking in the continuous images is more robust for detecting vehicle than the method using single image,and the proposed algorithm is evaluated by continuous images obtained on the expressway and downtown.And it can be performed on real-time through applying it to the embedded system.