Towards an automatic sunspot tracking: Swarm intelligence and snake model hybrid

In this paper we discuss the suitabil- ity and versatility of a computer aided approach for identification and automatic tracking of sunspots with the aim to study solar evolution of sunspots and contribute to advances in models for predict- ing space weather and its influence on Earth. Our work crosses the discipline boundaries of AI and Solar Physics by proposing an automatic sunspot tracking system based on a combined evolutionary Swarm Intelligence algorithm and Snake model. Some illustrative examples of tracking sunspot evo- lutions are presented to clarify the potential of the proposed approach.