Real-Time Human Skeleton Extraction Based on Video Sequences

Thinning algorithm is widely used in image processing and pattern recognition.In this paper we proposed an optimized thinning algorithm based on Zhan-Suen thinning and applied it to video sequences of moving human body to extract real-time body skeleton. We firstly used background subtraction method to detect moving body, then made use of adaptive threshold segmentation to gain the binary moving body image, finally we used the optimized algorithm to the binary image and got its skeleton. The skeleton not only maintains the movement geometry and body image’s topological properties, also reduces image redundancy and computation cost, and helps us clearly recognize the moving body posture.