Automatic bi-layer video segmentation based on sensor fusion

We propose a new solution to the problem of bi-layer video segmentation in terms of both, hardware design and algorithmic solution. At the data acquisition stage, we combine color video with infrared video, which is robust to illumination changes and provides an automatic initialization of the cue map for foreground-background segmentation. Two algorithms are presented to complete the segmentation, graph cut and contrast-preserving relaxation labeling. Both algorithms use color and edge information. Our experimental results show that the better performance of contrast-preserving relaxation labeling over graph cut, and the parallel characteristics make relaxation labeling superior to graph cut for implementation in GPU hardware.