Learning a Scene Background Model via Classification

Abstract

Learning to efficiently construct a scene background model is crucial for tracking techniques relying on background subtraction. Our proposed method is motivated by criteria leading to what a general and reasonable background model should be, and realized by a practical classification technique. Specifically, we consider a two-level approximation scheme that elegantly combines the bottom-up and top-down information for deriving a background model in real time. The key idea of our approach is simple but effective: If a classifier can be used to determine which image blocks are part of the background, its outcomes can help to carry out appropriate blockwise updates in learning such a model. The quality of the solution is further improved by global validations of the local updates to maintain the interblock consistency. And a complete background model can then be obtained based on a measurement of model completion. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our method, various experimental results and comparisons are included.