Video-object segmentation using multi-sprite background subtraction

The background subtraction algorithm is a frequently-used object segmentation technique because of its algorithmic simplicity. However, we show that, for general rotational camera-motion, it is impractical, or even impossible, to use a single background image. As a solution, we propose to use multi-sprite backgrounds which enables processing of arbitrary rotational camera-motion. The paper describes a complete video-object segmentation system employing multi-sprites. The system generates object masks and background sprites that are compatible with MPEG-4 object-oriented video-coding tools. Good segmentation results are also obtained for sequences which cannot be processed with ordinary background images.