University of Houston
Department of Computer Science

In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science

Jonathan Dowdall
will defend his Dissertation

Tracking Tissue in Thermal Video

Abstract
The extraction of high-level information from video through the use of computer vision algorithms has become increasingly important over the past decade. We propose a novel tracking method that uses a distributed network of independent trackers whose interactions are modeled using coalitional game theory. Our tracking method maintains pixel level accuracy and can negotiate target deformations. We tested our method on a substantial video set featuring non-trivial motion from over 40 objects in both the visual and infrared spectra. The tracker demonstrated fault tolerant behavior that exceeds the state of the art. Our method represents a shift from the typical tracking paradigms and may find application in demanding imaging problems across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Date: Thursday, October 26, 2006
Time: 12:00 PM
Place: 218-PGH

Faculty, students, and the general public are invited.
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Ioannis Pavlidis