About VReID-XFD
VReID-XFD is a WACV 2026 workshop dedicated to video-based human recognition at extreme far distances, highlighting long-term re-identification with clothing changes, detection at-a-distance, and surveillance analytics.
The half-day programme pairs an archival paper track with the DetReIDX challenge, supplying baselines, hidden-label evaluation, and a forum for the community advancing robust UAV-driven recognition.
Important Info
Where: WACV 2026, Tucson, Arizona (on-site)
When: 6 March 2026 · Half-day workshop with DetReIDX finals
Primary Contact: Hugo Proença · hugomcp@ubi.pt
Secondary Contact: Kailash Hambarde · kailash.hambarde@ubi.pt
VReID-XFD Competition
Stress-test video-based human recognition under extreme far distances. The Kaggle-hosted challenge offers reproducible baselines and a hidden-label leaderboard driven by the DetReIDX dataset.
Figure: DetReIDX challenge sequences emphasise severe clothing changes, illumination shifts, and long-range viewpoints tackled in the competition track.
Competition Timeline Schedule
Launch
Kaggle competition page opens.
Register your team and download the training data to begin development.
Start of competition and development phase.
Validation Leaderboard
Submit predictions and track your progress on the kaggle public leaderboard.
Iterate on your models with immediate feedback.
Competition ends on 20 December 2025 for submissions.
Competition Decision Notification
Decision notification for the competition.
Competition Paper Submission
Paper submission for the competition. Deadline is strict (Anywhere on Earth time).
Paper Acceptance Notification
Paper acceptance notification for all tracks. Deadline is strict (Anywhere on Earth time).
Camera Ready Paper Deadline
Final camera-ready version submission for all accepted papers. Deadline is strict (Anywhere on Earth time).
Awards Ceremony
Winners will be announced during the VReID-XFD workshop at WACV 2026 in Tucson, Arizona. Top teams are invited to present their solutions.
Submission Requirements
Submission Resources
- Submission CMT: CMT Submission Portal
- Author Guidelines: Follow WACV 2026 Main Conference Guidelines
- Author Kit: Download LaTeX Template (.zip)
Resources
Kaggle Competition
Official leaderboard and submission portal. Join the competition, download data, and submit your predictions.
Visit KaggleGitHub Baselines
Training code, evaluation scripts, baseline models, and comprehensive documentation to jumpstart your development.
View on GitHubDetReIDX Dataset
Benchmark overview, dataset statistics, access instructions, and protocol details for the competition tracks.
Learn MoreHave Questions? Competition Q&A, clarifications, and updates are coordinated through the Kaggle forum.
Keynote Speaker
We are honored to host a distinguished expert in large-scale person re-identification and computer vision.
Talk Abstract
Dr. Kien Nguyen will share advances in large-scale person re-identification, emphasising robustness to extreme distances, viewpoint changes, and degraded video conditions typical of UAV deployments. His talk will cover state-of-the-art approaches for handling challenging long-range scenarios and practical deployment considerations for real-world surveillance systems.
The keynote will explore cutting-edge methodologies for maintaining identification accuracy across extreme viewing distances, addressing challenges such as low resolution, atmospheric effects, and severe appearance variations. Attendees will gain insights into the latest techniques for building robust recognition systems that perform reliably in real-world deployment scenarios.
Biography
Dr. Kien Nguyen is a senior academic with QUT's School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics. His research covers biometrics, computer vision, and machine learning, with a particular focus on scalable long-range recognition. He has published extensively in top-tier computer vision conferences and journals, contributing to both theoretical advances and practical applications in person re-identification systems.
With over a decade of experience in computer vision research, Dr. Nguyen has led numerous projects on large-scale biometric systems and has been instrumental in advancing the field of person re-identification. His work has been recognized internationally and has influenced both academic research and industrial applications in surveillance and security domains.
Key Research Areas
Call for Papers
VReID-XFD: Video-based Human Recognition at Extreme Far Distances
The VReID-XFD workshop at WACV 2026 (Tucson, Arizona • 6–7 March 2026) invites original research papers and competition reports on video-based human recognition in extreme far-distance and degraded conditions.
We seek contributions that advance robust long-range analytics across academic and applied settings, including methodological advances, benchmarking, and challenge-driven insights leveraging the DetReIDX dataset.
Submission Tracks
Track 1: Research Papers
Original research on methods, algorithms, and applications in extreme-distance video recognition.
Track 2: Competition Reports
Technical papers describing DetReIDX competition methodologies and results from participating teams.
Topics of Interest
- UAV-based and long-range person re-identification
- Cross-clothing, pose, and illumination-invariant recognition
- Person tracking and multi-camera association
- Super-resolution and restoration for low-quality human imagery
- Domain adaptation and generalisation across sensors and viewpoints
- Detection and re-identification in aerial and surveillance video
- Benchmarking, evaluation, and explainability for extreme-distance recognition
Submission Guidelines
Submission Requirements
Submission Resources
Important Dates Paper Submission Track (All times 11:59 PM PST / AOE)
VReID-XFD Competition Track
The VReID-XFD Challenge runs in parallel with the workshop. Registered teams evaluate on hidden test splits, document their pipelines, and may submit companion papers. Top-performing teams will be invited for oral or poster presentations.
Why Publish with VReID-XFD?
Join the leading workshop on extreme-distance recognition and gain visibility in the computer vision community.
IEEE Xplore Indexing
All accepted papers will be published in the official WACV 2026 Workshop Proceedings and indexed in IEEE Xplore Digital Library.
Open Access via CVF
Your research will be freely accessible through the Computer Vision Foundation (CVF) Open Access repository.
Expert Feedback
Receive detailed reviews from 50+ leading researchers in biometrics, computer vision, and surveillance analytics.
International Visibility
Present your work at WACV 2026 in Tucson, Arizona, and network with the global computer vision community.
Competition Recognition
Top VReID-XFD competition teams receive awards, certificates, and opportunities for extended journal publications.
Fast-Track Review
Efficient 10-day review process with rebuttal opportunity and camera-ready deadline within 2 days of acceptance.
Ready to Submit Your Research?
Join researchers worldwide in advancing extreme-distance video recognition.
View Submission GuidelinesProgramme
Workshop Schedule · 6 March 2026
Opening Remarks
Workshop overview and DetReIDX competition briefing
Dr. Kien Nguyen
Person Re-identification at Scale
Queensland University of Technology
Oral Session
Selected papers on extreme-distance detection, tracking, and re-identification
Coffee Break & Poster Session
Networking and poster presentations
DetReIDX Competition Finals
Top teams present their solutions followed by leaderboard reveal and awards
Panel Discussion
Challenges and opportunities in extreme-distance recognition
Closing Remarks
Workshop summary and future directions
Organisers
Meet the team behind VReID-XFD Workshop 2026
Partners & Support
Collaboration inquiries and sponsorship opportunities are welcome. Contact the organising committee to join the WACV 2026 VReID-XFD initiative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DetReIDX dataset?
DetReIDX is a novel benchmark dataset for video-based person re-identification at extreme far distances captured from UAV platforms. It features severe clothing changes, long-range viewpoints, illumination variations, and degraded video conditions typical of real-world surveillance scenarios.
Can I participate in the competition without submitting a paper?
Yes! The VReID-XFD competition is open to all participants. However, top-performing teams are strongly encouraged to submit a companion paper describing their methodology for publication in the workshop proceedings.
What is the paper format and page limit?
Papers should follow the CVPR/WACV 2026 format with a maximum of 8 pages (excluding references). Supplementary materials are allowed. All submissions must be fully anonymized for double-blind review.
Will the workshop be held in-person or virtually?
The workshop will be held in-person at WACV 2026 in Tucson, Arizona, USA on 6 March 2026.
How do I access the VReID-XFD dataset?
The dataset is available through the Kaggle competition page (registration required). Visit https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/detreidxv1/data and the official dataset page at https://www.it.ubi.pt/DetReIDX/ for access instructions.
Are there any registration fees?
The competition is free to participate. For paper authors and attendees, standard WACV 2026 conference registration, please check the WACV 2026 website for detailed registration information.
Can I submit work that has been previously published?
No. All submissions must present original, previously unpublished work. Papers under review at other venues at the time of submission to VReID-XFD are not allowed. Competition technical reports summarizing existing methods are acceptable if properly cited.
Where can I ask additional questions?
For competition-related questions, please use the Kaggle forum. For paper submission and workshop inquiries, contact the organizing committee at hugomcp@ubi.pt or kailash.hambarde@ubi.pt.