Comparison of rigid body motion trajectory descriptors for motion representation and recognition

This paper presents an overview and comparison of minimal and complete rigid body motion trajectory descriptors, usable in applications like motion recognition and programming by demonstration. Motion trajectory descriptors are able to deal with potentially unwanted variations acting on the motion trajectory such as changes in the execution time, the motion´s starting position, or the viewpoint from which the motion is observed. A suitable rigid body motion trajectory descriptor retains only the trajectory information relevant to the application. This paper compares different trajectory descriptors for rigid body motion and validates their usefulness for dealing with motion variation in a motion recognition experiment. Furthermore, a new type of invariant trajectory descriptor is introduced based on the Frenet-Serret formulas.