Cooperative object tracking with multiple ptz cameras

Research in visual surveillance systems is shifting from using few stationary, passive cameras to employing large heterogeneous sensor networks. One promising type of sensor in particular is the Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera, which can cover a potentially much larger area than passive cameras, and can obtain much higher resolution imagery through zoom capacity. In this paper, a system that can track objects with multiple calibrated PTZ cameras in a cooperative fashion is presented. Tracking and calibration results are combined with several image processing techniques in a statistical segmentation framework, through which the cameras can hand over targets to each other. A prototype system is presented that operates in real time. 1