Prioritized target tracking with active collaborative cameras

Mobile cameras on robotic platforms can support fixed multi-camera installations to improve coverage and target localization accuracy. We propose a novel collaborative framework for prioritized target tracking that complement static cameras with mobile cameras, which track targets on demand. Upon receiving a request from static cameras, a mobile camera selects (or switches to) a target to track using a local selection criterion that accounts for target priority, view quality and energy consumption. Mobile cameras use a receding horizon scheme to minimize tracking uncertainty as well as energy consumption when planning their path. We validate the proposed framework in simulated realistic scenarios and show that it improves tracking accuracy and target observation time with reduced energy consumption compared to a framework with only static cameras and compared to a state-of-the-art motion strategy.