Patent ID: 7613321

Claim:
An image processing apparatus for performing a tracking of a moving object by setting a tracking area corresponding to a moving object appearing in a video image, by setting a plurality of feature points in the tracking area, and by tracking the plurality of feature points, comprising: a tracking processing unit configured to track each of the plurality of feature points from the preceding frame to the present frame; a motion calculation processing unit configured to specify a position of the tracking area in the present frame by estimating the motion of the tracking area based on the tracking result of each of the feature points; and an occlusion detecting unit configured to detect the occurrence of an occlusion of the moving object overlapping with an other object, said occlusion detecting unit calculates an occlusion value indicating the possibility of the occurrence of the occlusion of the moving object by utilizing a change of a number of feature points being successfully tracked, wherein said tracking processing unit calculates a reliability indicator indicating that a feature point has been tracked in the moving object for each of the feature points; and said motion calculation processing unit calculates the motion of the tracking area using the reliability indicator of each feature point and the occlusion value; wherein said occlusion detecting unit sets a plurality of groups of feature points among the feature points based on the respective reliability indicators; and said occlusion detecting unit calculates the occlusion value based on a change of the number of the feature points being successfully tracked among different groups of the plurality of groups of the feature points.