Avian detection & tracking algorithm using infrared imaging

This paper presents a method for target detection and tracking of IR images in the application of avian surveillance. As there are many reports of avian mortality due to collision with turbine blades, the detection and tracking of birds at turbine sites is an important issue. In this work, three different background subtraction techniques are first applied to detect moving objects. Otsu thresholding method is then extended by incorporating an adaptive variable based on the mean of each frame and certain constant value. Filtering using morphological operations is applied. Results of three different techniques are then compared. Selected technique (RA) followed by thresholding and filtering is then used for tracking and information extraction. Results show that proposed method provides the needed accuracy for IR imagery. This method can be effectively used in different applications of IR imaging.