Fast Image-free high precision target tracking using single pixel detection

The fast location tracking of moving targets is of great significance for navigation and guidance. The image-based tracking methods usually require massive sampling and data storage. In order to realize the fast tracking of the target, we propose an image-free method based on single pixel detection. The proposed method uses Fourier slice theorem to directly obtain the one-dimensional projection information of the target. At extremely low sampling, the one-dimensional projection curve is simplified into a gently changing crest, but the peak of the curve at this time still contains the central coordinate information of the target. By post-processing the projection curve at different sampling rates and selecting appropriate tracking characteristics, the accuracy can be maintained while further reducing the sampling rate and simplifying the calculation. In addition, the background subtraction is utilized to remove the effect of background information, so that the target can still be tracked in a complex background. The effectiveness of the proposed method in different background conditions is verified by simulations. Under the spatial resolution of 256×256 pixels, the sampling rate of the proposed method can be reduced to 0.012%, which greatly shortens the sampling time. At the same time, the proposed method has small error with less than one pixel in the horizontal and vertical directions.