SORT Explained: Real-Time Object Tracking in Python

Simple Online and Realtime Tracking (SORT) is a real-time object tracking solution discussed in a blog post by Alexander Dylan Bodner. SORT is a method that leverages advancements in object detection to provide a robust and efficient solution for multiple object tracking, particularly in low-resource computing scenarios. It employs a Kalman Filter to predict object movements and refine their positions through a series of steps: detection, prediction, association, and correction. While it excels in speed and simplicity—operating at 260 frames per second with impressive accuracy—it has limitations, such as not considering appearance features and struggling with overlapping objects or those with significant velocity changes. Despite newer, more complex methods surpassing it, SORT remains a viable choice for certain applications. The blog also provides a practical guide to implementing SORT in Python using the Trackers library and Yolo V8 as the object detector, allowing users to run object tracking tasks efficiently.