ABSTRACT
Tracking and recognition refers to the process of being able to identify and continuously follow the movement of a specifi ed target based on the data obtained from a variety of sensors, such as a video camera, forward-looking infrared (FLIR), and synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Tracking and recognition tasks are of great importance in military applications and are incorporated into a number of systems that aid in keeping track of a large number of targets over vast spaces. They are also used in sensor-based missile guidance systems. Civilian applications include highway traffi c monitoring, restricted area surveillance, border security, etc. The task of tracking and recognition is challenging because targets of interest do not always appear the same and can have different signatures based on their pose, camoufl age, etc. In addition, the sensors used to acquire information are affected by many intrinsic (focal length, IR sensitivity, etc.) and extrinsic factors (temperature, reduced visibility, etc.). Further, there are problems associated with varying backgrounds, presence of clutter, occlusion, interaction between various targets, etc.
