computer science

SwisTrack

SwisTrack is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SwisTrack rather than just read about it. In short: SwisTrack is an open-source tool for tracking robots and other objects using a camera or a recorded video as input source. It has mainly been developed by Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory (DISAL) and the LPM Vision Group at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Key takeaways

SwisTrack belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SwisTrack to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SwisTrack from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SwisTrack is an open-source tool for tracking robots and other objects using a camera or a recorded video as input source. It has mainly been developed by Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory (DISAL) and the LPM Vision Group at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Architecture SwisTrack is written in C++ using the wxWidgets library for GUI and networking. It uses Intel's OpenCV library for fast image processing and contains interfaces for USB, FireWire and GigE cameras, as well as AVI files. Since version 4, SwisTrack's pipeline is built by the user from components which interact with each other and pass data through data channels. There are six data channels: input, grayscale image, color image, binary image, particles and tracks. Individual components work only with some of the data channels. Each data channel that the component works with can be in one of the three modes: read, write and edit (i.e. both read and write). In the typical pipeline, the image is transformed into a binary image, there objects are detected as blobs which are converted into particles, and the particles form tracks by comparing consecutive frames. Blob is a set of connected pixels with the same value. SwisTrack outputs data either by writing into a tab-separated file or by using the TCP interface with the NMEA 0183 protocol. The latter also allows the remote controlling.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SwisTrack

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SwisTrack claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SwisTrack before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SwisTrack ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SwisTrack

In research: SwisTrack appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SwisTrack in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SwisTrack is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 in robotics, 2008 software, Free and open-source software stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SwisTrack outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SwisTrack in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SwisTrack means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SwisTrack out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SwisTrack in simple terms?

Why does SwisTrack matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SwisTrack?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SwisTrack.