Computing two motions from three frames

A fundamental assumption made in formulating optical-flow algorithms is that motion at any point in any image can be represented as a single pattern undergoing a simple translation: even complex motion will appear as a uniform displacement when viewed through a sufficiently small window. This assumption fails in a number of common situations. The authors propose an alternative formulation in which there may be two distinct patterns undergoing coherent motion within a given local analysis region. They then present an algorithm for the analysis of two-component motion. They also demonstrate that the algorithm provides precise motion estimates for a set of elementary two-motion configurations, and show that it is robust in the presence of noise.