A biprocessor-oriented vision-based target tracking system

The design and realization of a vision-based target tracking system is proposed. The objective is to derive the orientation of a pan-tilt camera fitting a drone in order to track a target and to maintain its position in the middle of the image. Image data and drone attitude are the only information available for the camera control to be achieved correctly. This embedded system requires low-cost hardware for surveillance or attack drone applications: a digital signal processor for the image processing, and a microcontroller for the camera control. To ensure real-time video operation, an algorithmic solution integrating a successive-step and multi-block search method is implemented, thus allowing complex target displacements. The microcontroller uses this information to manage the camera orientation. Experiments have been conducted in real conditions and acceptable target tracking results have been obtained on the prototypal hardware.