Video-based vehicle and pedestrian tracking and motion modelling

ANDROID (Automated Numeration of Data Realised by Optimised Image Detection) is a collaborative, LINK-funded project between the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Ross Silcock Partnership. (RSL) and the Defence, Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). ANDROID is co-ordinated by RSL. The motivating idea for the project was to build upon research started under the DETR-funded Pedestrian Behaviour and Exposure to Risk (PEDEX) project (R.A.Allsopp, 1997, C.R.Williams and M.G.H.Bell, 1997) where image processing of traffic videos was used to assess the exposure of pedestrians to risk. This project illustrated the shortcomings of existing systems to monitor, classify and count vehicles and pedestrians automatically. These shortcomings were addressed and, to some extent resolved, in the ANDROID project which specifically developed techniques to characterise objects and the application software to discriminate, track and count pedestrians and vehicles automatically from video footage. In parallel with the technical research development work ANDROID also developed a validation scheme for the system and performed significant market analysis to determine what exploitation path the partnership should pursue.