Object Detection-Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Based on a Radar-Photoelectric System

Object tracking is an important basis for the autonomous navigation of unmanned surface vehicles. However, several problems still must be addressed for a wide applicating of object tracking in unmanned surface vehicles. First, if multiple objects of the same classification exist in the same field of view, then stable extraction of an object is difficult. Second, in an environment with a complex background and large changes in object shape, the tracking accuracy is low, and object tracking errors and tracking loss can easily occur. Third, much time is required to detect a high-resolution real-time video stream, not meeting the delay requirement of the photoelectric servo stable tracking. To resolve these problems, this paper proposes an object detection-tracking algorithm based on a radar-photoelectric system. The algorithm combines an object detection algorithm with an object tracking algorithm and involves the following steps. First, a first-frame object extraction algorithm is used to extract the tracking object from the first frame. Second, a region of interest (ROI)-prediction algorithm is used to predict ROIs and detect objects in these ROIs. This algorithm can effectively solve the above problems in marine tests. When multiple objects of the same classification exist in the same field of view, the algorithm can extract the radar-guided object stably. When faced with a complex background and a large change in object shape, the algorithm substantially improves the accuracy and robustness of object tracking. Compared with the conventional object detection algorithm, the time consumption of this algorithm is reduced by 25.8%.