Adaptive search area for fast motion estimation

In this paper a new method for determining the search area for motion estimation algorithm based on block matching is suggested. In the proposed method the search area is adaptively found for each block of a frame. This search area is similar to that of the full search (FS) algorithm but smaller for most blocks of a frame. Therefore, the proposed algorithm is analogous to FS in terms of regularity but has much less computational complexity. To find the search area, the temporal and spatial correlations among the motion vectors of blocks are used. Based on this, the matched block is chosen from a rectangular area that the prediction vectors set out. Simulation results indicate that the speed of the proposed algorithm is at least 7 times better than the FS algorithm.