Patent ID: 7428318

Claim:
A method for capturing motion, comprising: receiving a captured image having a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns; for each pixel of the captured image, comparing an intensity of the pixel of the captured image to an intensity of a corresponding pixel in a threshold image; if the intensity of the pixel of the captured image exceeds the intensity of the corresponding pixel in the threshold image, then designating the pixel of the captured image as a hot pixel; comparing hot pixels in adjacent rows to determine related hot pixels; designating the related hot pixels as a glob; comparing characteristics of the glob with predetermined characteristics of an item to track the motion associated with the item; if the characteristics of the glob satisfy the predetermined characteristics of the item, then determining three dimensional coordinates for candidate points corresponding to the glob; determining track attributes for the candidate points, wherein the track attributes describe the candidate point's movement from frame to frame; comparing the track attributes for the candidate points to expected attributes of the motion of the item; and if the track attributes satisfy the expected attributes, then determining that the candidate points correspond to the item.