Feature Tracking

Feature tracking finds stable corners/edges in the scene and follows them frame-to-frame—fully on-device—so mapping, odometry, and AR anchoring stay low-latency even under fast motion or thin host budgets.OAK cameras run the FeatureTracker node with hardware-accelerated optical flow. With high keypoint density, good low-light stability, and tight IMU sync it makes visual odometry and localization hold up in challenging scenes.

Tracking resilience

FeatureTracker gives you stable, real-time point tracking, automatically drops unreliable points, and is easy to tune so performance stays strong across different environments. Pair it with IMU or stereo depth to keep pose seeds stable after shocks, drift, or aggressive maneuvers.

Typical use cases

Visual odometry & SLAM: feed tracks into Basalt VIO, RTAB-Map, or other VIO stacks for drift-resistant pose.
Motion estimation: derive ego-motion or rotation cues directly from optical flow for stabilization, drones, and handheld rigs.
AR anchoring: lock virtual content to real points with low-latency updates even during quick pans or rolls.

Build your own

Guides and examples

Feature tracker demo

Detect and track features between frames

Motion estimation

Tracks + optical flow for motion cues

Feature detector

Corner detection only—useful for tuning thresholds

Basalt VIO

Stereo + IMU odometry using tracked features

Need assistance?

Head over to Discussion Forum for technical support or any other questions you might have.

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