Image/video analysis with activity signatures

Video frames from a video are compressed into a single image or a single data structure that represents a unique visual flowprint or visual signature for a given activity being modeled from the video frames. The flowprint comprises a computed summary of the original pixel values associated with the video frames within the single image and the flowprint is specific to movements occurring within the video frames that are associated with the given activity. In an embodiment, the flowprint is provided as input to a machine-learning algorithm to allow the algorithm to perform object tracking and monitoring from the flowprint rather than from the video frames of the video, which substantially improves processor load and memory utilization on a device that executes the algorithm, and substantially improved responsiveness of the algorithm.