Enhancement of the Horn and Schunck optic flow algorithm by means of median filters

For optic flow computation the Horn and Schunck (1980) algorithm is one of the most used and powerful. Some drawbacks are, nevertheless, intrinsically related to the approach that it used. A smoothness constraint is imposed to the flow field in order to produce a solution. This constraint causes the estimated field to be incorrect where motion discontinuities are present. The weight of this smoothness constraint is reduced by using median filters. Motion boundaries are better preserved by the modified algorithm. Results are presented and possible developments are proposed.