Tracking may refer to:

Science and technology

Computing

* Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, 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, 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, an essential component of augmented reality * Video tracking, locating an object in each frame of a video sequence * Mobile phone tracking, 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, the analysis of visitor behavior on a website *

Sleep tracking Sleep tracking is the process of monitoring a person's sleep, most commonly through measuring inactivity and movement. A device that tracks a person's sleep is called a sleep tracker. Devices capable of tracking a person's sleep include dedicated ...

, 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), 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), 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, 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 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 thro ...

, measuring the direction and magnitude of the momenta of charged particles * Tracking, a process of degradation in which tree-like carbonized patterns ( electrical treeing) appear on an insulator * Tracking or Toe (automotive), 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 * Tracking system, 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 filming technique also known as a dolly shot

Sports

* Tracking (dog), the act of a dog following a scent trail *

Tracking (freeflying) Tracking is a technique used by skydivers during freefall to increase their horizontal speed. Tracking is considered a fundamental skill in the sport because it allows multiple skydivers to gain separation from each other prior to deploying their ...

, in skydiving, the technique of moving horizontally while in freefall * Tracking (hunting), 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), a scouting activity focused on observation, stalking, and following a trail * Tracking, typographers' term for letter-spacing, 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 ...