Tracking may refer to:

Science and technology

Computing

* Tracking, in computer graphics, in

match moving In visual effects, match moving is a technique that allows the insertion of computer graphics into live-action footage with correct position, scale, orientation, and motion relative to the photographed objects in the shot. The term is used loos ...

(insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with

music tracker A music tracker (sometimes referred to as just tracker for short) is a type of music sequencer software for creating music. The music is represented as discrete musical notes positioned in several channels at discrete chronological positions on ...

software *

Eye tracking Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research ...

, measuring the position of the eye relative to the head *

Finger tracking In the field of gesture recognition and image processing, finger tracking is a high-resolution technique developed in 1969 that is employed to know the consecutive position of the fingers of the user and hence represent objects in 3D. In additio ...

, measuring the positions of the fingers *

Optical motion tracking Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

, or motion capture, recording the precise movements of objects or people * Position tracking, monitoring the location of a mechanical system in real-time by counting pulses; see *

Positional tracking In virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), a pose tracking system detects the precise pose of head-mounted displays, controllers, other objects or body parts within Euclidean space. Pose tracking is often referred to as 6DOF tracking, for ...

, an essential component of augmented reality *

Video tracking Video tracking is the process of locating a moving object (or multiple objects) over time using a camera. It has a variety of uses, some of which are: human-computer interaction, security and surveillance, video communication and compression, aug ...

, locating an object in each frame of a video sequence *

Mobile phone tracking Mobile phone tracking is a process for identifying the location of a mobile phone, whether stationary or moving. Localization may be effected by a number of technologies, such as the multilateration of radio signals between (several) cell towers ...

, monitoring the physical location of a mobile phone *

Internet tracking Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. Pri ...

, analyzing online activity *

Web visitor tracking Web tracking is the practice by which operators of websites and third parties collect, store and share information about visitors’ activities on the World Wide Web. Analysis of a user's behaviour may be used to provide content that enables the ...

, the analysis of visitor behavior on a website * Sleep tracking, monitoring sleeping experience (deep, REM, duration etc.)

Life sciences

Animal migration tracking Animal migration tracking is used in wildlife biology, conservation biology, ecology, and wildlife management to study animals' behavior in the wild. One of the first techniques was bird banding, placing passive ID tags on birds legs, to identif ...

, performed by attaching a tag to an animal *

Tracking (hunting) Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked (the "quarry"). A further goal of tracking is the deeper und ...

, to learn about the ecology of an area * Environmental tracking, a concept developed by the

Environmental Investment Organisation The Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO) is a UK-based not-for-profit body dedicated to researching, proposing and implementing solutions to climate change. It has developed the ''Environmental Tracking'' (ET) concept, rebranded by ET Inde ...

to monitor climate change

Logistics

Tracking (commercial airline flight) Flight tracking is a service that involves the tracking of flights, aircraft and airport activity, often using software. Overview Flight tracking enables travellers as well as those picking up travellers after a flight to know whether a flight h ...

, the means of tracking civil airline flights in real time *

Package tracking Package tracking or ''package logging'' is the process of localizing shipping containers, mail and parcel post at different points of time during sorting, warehousing, and package delivery to verify their provenance and to predict and aid delive ...

, or package logging, the process of localizing shipping containers, mail and parcel post *

Track and trace In the distribution and logistics of many types of products, track and trace or tracking and tracing concerns a process of determining the current and past locations (and other information) of a unique item or property. This concept can be s ...

, a process of determining the current and past locations and other status of property in transit * Asset tracking, which provides status of objects of an inventory or mobile stock *

Vehicle tracking system A vehicle tracking system combines the use of automatic vehicle location in individual vehicles with software that collects these fleet data for a comprehensive picture of vehicle locations. Modern vehicle tracking systems commonly use GPS or G ...

uses GPS to find out about movement and/or location of cars, trucks, and/or other vehicles

Other uses in science and technology

Tracking (particle physics) In particle physics, tracking is the process of reconstructing the trajectory (or track) of electrically charged particles in a particle detector known as a tracker. The particles entering such a tracker leave a precise record of their passage throu ...

, measuring the direction and magnitude of the momenta of charged particles * Tracking, a process of degradation in which tree-like carbonized patterns (

electrical treeing In electrical engineering, treeing is an electrical pre-breakdown phenomenon in solid insulation. It is a damaging process due to partial discharges and progresses through the stressed dielectric insulation, in a path resembling the branches of ...

) appear on an insulator * Tracking or

Toe (automotive) In automotive engineering, toe, also known as tracking, is the symmetric angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two Ray (geometry), rays, called the ''Side (plane geometry), sides'' of the angle, sharing a common ...

, the symmetric angle that each wheel makes with the long axis of a vehicle *

Video tape tracking In a video tape recorder, tracking is a calibration adjustment which ensures that the spinning playback head is properly aligned with the helical scan signal written onto the tape. In the case of VHS, a linear control track A control track is a ...

, alignment of the magnetic tape of a video recorder with the read head * Tracking, combining individual radar detections with a

radar tracker A radar tracker is a component of a radar system, or an associated command and control (C2) system, that associates consecutive radar observations of the same target into Track (navigation), tracks. It is particularly useful when the radar system ...

Tracking system A tracking system, also known as a locating system, is used for the observing of persons or objects on the move and supplying a timely ordered sequence of location data for further processing. It is important to be aware of human tracking, fur ...

, various methods used to monitor moving persons or objects, often remotely *

Tracking transmitter A tracking transmitter broadcasts a radio signal which can be detected by a directional antenna (typically a Radio Direction Finder.) By rotating the antenna one can determine the direction the signal lies in and of course whatever it may be attac ...

, a device that broadcasts a radio signal that can be detected by a directional antenna * Target and missile tracking, elements of Go-Onto-Target systems in missile guidance * Tracking is also used, euphemistically, for

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizati ...

Multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking or tracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a ...

, a term commonly shortened to "tracking"

Arts and entertainment

* ''Tracking'' (documentary), a 1994 documentary about the band Phish * ''Tracking'' (novel), a three-part work by David R. Palmer *

Tracking shot A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails – ...

, a filming technique also known as a dolly shot

Sports

Tracking (dog) Tracking refers to a dog's ability to detect, recognize and follow a specific scent. Possessing heightened olfactory abilities, dogs, especially scent hounds, are able to detect, track and locate the source of certain odours.Hepper, P. G., & Wells ...

, the act of a dog following a scent trail * Tracking (freeflying), in skydiving, the technique of moving horizontally while in freefall *

, the art of learning about a place via animal trails and other environmental evidence *

Tracking trial Tracking refers to a dog's ability to detect, recognize and follow a specific scent. Possessing heightened olfactory abilities, dogs, especially scent hounds, are able to detect, track and locate the source of certain odours.Hepper, P. G., & Wells ...

, a dog competition

Other uses

Tracking (education) Tracking is separating students by academic ability into groups for all subjects or certain classes and curriculum within a school. It may be referred to as streaming or phasing in some schools. In a tracking system, the entire school population ...

, separating children into classes according to academic ability *

Tracking (scouting) Tracking is an element of scouting that encompasses observation, stalking and the following of a trail. Unlike the form of tracking employed in hunting, tracking within the Scouting movement tends to focus on the tracking of people as well as an ...

, a scouting activity focused on observation, stalking, and following a trail * Tracking, typographers' term for

letter-spacing Examples of headline letter spacing In typography, letter spacing, character spacing or tracking is an optically consistent adjustment to the space between letters to change the visual density of a line or block of text. Letter spacing is distin ...

, uniformly increasing or decreasing the space between all letters in a block of text * Tracking, matching or comparing the performance of a financial portfolio to a

stock market index In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance. Two of the ...