Aerial tracking is an important service for many Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. Existing work has failed to provide robust solutions when handling target disappearance, viewpoint changes, and tracking drifts in practical scenarios with limited UAV resources. In this paper, we propose a closed-loop framework integrating three key components: (1) a lightweight adaptive detection with multi-scale feature extraction, (2) spatiotemporal motion modeling through Kalman-filter-based trajectory prediction, and (3) autonomous decision-making through composite scoring of detection confidence, appearance similarity, and motion consistency. By implementing dynamic detection-tracking coordination with quality-aware feature preservation, our system enables real-time operation through performance-adaptive frequency modulation. Evaluated on VOT-ST2019 and OTB100 benchmarks, the proposed method yields marked improvements over baseline trackers, achieving a 27.94% increase in Expected Average Overlap (EAO) and a 10.39% reduction in failure rates, while sustaining a frame rate of 23–95 FPS on edge hardware. The framework achieves rapid target reacquisition during prolonged occlusion scenarios through optimized protocols, outperforming conventional methods in sustained aerial surveillance tasks.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Closed-Loop Aerial Tracking with Dynamic Detection-Tracking Coordination


    Contributors:
    Yang Wang (author) / Heqing Huang (author) / Jiahao He (author) / Dongting Han (author) / Zhiwei Zhao (author)


    Publication date :

    2025




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown




    Closed Loop Visual Tracking Using Observer-Based Dynamic Active Contours

    Vela, Patricio / Niethammer, Marc / Malcolm, James et al. | AIAA | 2005


    Particle filter for closed-loop detection and tracking from occluded airborne images

    Nakamura, Takuma / Haviland, Stephen / Bershadsky, Dmitry et al. | IEEE | 2017


    A Synthesis of Human Response in Closed-Loop Tracking Tasks

    J. J. Adams / H. P. Bergeron | NTIS | 1968


    High Amplitude Lift Tracking Using Closed-Loop Feedback and Control

    Mongin, Michael P. / Gunasekaran, Sidaard / Medina, Albert et al. | AIAA | 2022