Development of an integrated system based vehicle tracking algorithm with shadow removal and occlusion handling methods

Video image processing system (VIPS) is more efficient than other detecting systems. However, VIPS involves outdoor images and is very sensitive to the external environment, which could greatly decrease its accuracy according to rapid environmental changes. To obtain accurate traffic data accordingly, VIPS must address the problems such as growing shadows in transition; distortion of images due to the headlights at night; noises caused by the rain, snow or fog; and occlusions. This study intends to accurately calculate traffic data while addressing the shadow and occlusion problems, which are the most difficult tasks for the image‐detector‐based traffic data system. In this study, an algorithm for the individual vehicle tracking collection was developed to address the occlusion problem and to eliminate the noises or shadows caused by external environmental factors. A traffic data collection system was also proposed in order to accurately track individual vehicles that pass through the detection region. In addition, establishing an integrated system with shadow removal and occlusion handling using an image processing was also proposed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.