A probabilistic template update method for tracking facial tissue in thermal infrared

A novel template update method is proposed for facial tissue tracking in thermal clips. It is a smoothed matte ap- proach, which provides the location along with the rate of updating. The template is able to adapt to abrupt orienta- tion and physiological changes, while remaining robust to noise disturbances. Furthermore, it addresses successfully the difficult template drift problem. The new method was tested on tracking face regions in 40 thermal clips of in- dividuals in varying psycho-physiological and environmen- tal conditions. It demonstrated stability and accuracy, out- performing other template update strategies. The method promises improved performance in contact-free polygraphy and thus, it is of value in this emerging form of close range surveillance.