COMPUTER VISION METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMAGING SENSORS FOR RECOGNIZING AND TRACKING OCCUPANTS IN FIXED ENVIRONMENTS UNDER VARIABLE ILLUMINATION

An computer vision method and system for recognizing and tracking occupants in a fixed space under variable illumination. The system utilizes a camera to capture an initial image of the unoccupied fixed space and subsequently captures images of the occupied fixed space. The edge maps of the current estimate of the unoccupied fixed space including illumination variations and the occupied fixed space are computed. The edge map of the current estimate of the unoccupied fixed space is then subtracted from the edge map of the occupied fixed space to yield a residual edge map, which is then processed to extract the image of the occupant. At least one equivalent rectangle is then computed from the two-dimensional moments of the image of the occupant. The equivalent rectangles are then used to determine the occupant type and position and to track changes in real-time. This method and system is generally designed for use with automobile safety systems such as “smart” airbags. However, it may be tailored to many applications such as computer gaming, adaptive automotive controls, and “smart” homes, among others.