Real-time foreground–background segmentation using codebook model

• Published in: Real-time imaging 2005-06, Vol.11 (3), p.172-185
• Main Authors: Kim, Kyungnam, Chalidabhongse, Thanarat H., Harwood, David, Davis, Larry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1077-2014; 1096-116X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rti.2004.12.004

We present a real-time algorithm for foreground–background segmentation. Sample background values at each pixel are quantized into codebooks which represent a compressed form of background model for a long image sequence. This allows us to capture structural background variation due to periodic-like motion over a long period of time under limited memory. The codebook representation is efficient in memory and speed compared with other background modeling techniques. Our method can handle scenes containing moving backgrounds or illumination variations, and it achieves robust detection for different types of videos. We compared our method with other multimode modeling techniques. In addition to the basic algorithm, two features improving the algorithm are presented—layered modeling/detection and adaptive codebook updating. For performance evaluation, we have applied perturbation detection rate analysis to four background subtraction algorithms and two videos of different types of scenes.