In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a system for tracking
a target is provided that includes an image sensor mounted to a gimbal for acquiring
an image, wherein the image includes a plurality of pixels representing the target
and a background. The system further includes a motor for rotating the gimbal and
an autotracker electrically coupled to the image sensor and the motor. The autotracker
includes a probability map generator for computing a probability that each of the
plurality of pixels having a particular intensity is either a portion of the target
or a portion of the background, a pixel processor in communicative relation with
the probability map generator for calculating a centroid of the target based upon
the probabilities computed by the probability map generator, and a controller in
communicative relation with the pixel processor for generating commands to the
motor based upon the centroid.
