A new fast block matching algorithm using the simplex technique

A new fast technique for block-based motion estimation using the simplex technique is presented. Block-based motion estimation is used in several video compression applications and standards. The simplex search is a fast search technique that converges rapidly towards the minimum point in small or irregular search areas. It starts with a certain initial-point configuration and then moves towards the solution through a set of operations. These operations include reflection, expansion, and contraction. The proposed technique was implemented as part of the MPEG-2 encoder and was compared with different search techniques. The results obtained show that the technique has better performance over some existing techniques in terms of computation complexity and motion estimation accuracy.