Real-time object tracking by rotating range sensor

We propose a new method to track 3-D motion of an object in real-time, using range images. A very high speed range sensor "Silicon Range Finder" makes it possible to acquire range images at more than 30 frames per second, and rotated to keep the object in the measurable area. Rough but fast results of range image processing controls the angle of the range sensor, and the object centered range images decide the pose of the object. The 3-D CG rendering hardware of the graphics workstation generates range images from the surface model very fast, so it makes the comparison algorithm simple. Tracking speed and accuracies of estimated motion seem to be feasible for the man-machine cooperative systems.