NEXT GENERATION POSITION/ORIENTATION TRACKING DEVICE

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO DESIGN AND FABRICATE A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT MODEL OF A NOVEL SIX DEGREES-OF-FREEDOM TRACKING DEVICE FOR MEASURING THE POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF A HEAD OR HAND IN AN AUGMENTED REALITY ENVIRONMENT. THE FEASIBILITY MODEL TO BE BUILT IN PHASE I WILL DEMONSTRATE GREATLY REDUCED SENSITIVITY TO NEARBY METAL OBJECTS, LESS SENSITIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE, A HIGHER MEASUREMENT RATE, LESS DATA LAG, AND FEWER ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS THAN EXISTING MAGNETIC AND ELECTROMAGNETIC TRACKING PRODUCTS. FOLLOWING A SYSTEM CONFIGURATION ANALYSIS TO OPTIMIZE RANGE, ACCURACY, FORM FACTOR AND SAMPLING RATE, HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO A BREADBOARD SYSTEM. PROOF OF CONCEPT WILL BE ESTABLISHED BY TESTING THIS BREADBOARD SYSTEM IN A LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT. THE NEW TRACKER'S CAPABILITY TO OPERATE IN HOSTILE, METALLIC ENVIRONMENTS, E.G., COCKPITS OF TACTICAL VEHICLES, COCKPIT SIMULATORS, HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOMS, AND IN "ON-THE-JOB" AUGMENTED REALITY TRAINING ENVIRONMENTS WILL FOSTER NEW MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS. NEW APPLICATIONS INCLUDE PRECISE CATHETER AND ENDOSCOPE LOCALIZATION DURING SURGERY, THREE-DIMENSIONAL HUMAN ORGAN IMAGING USING ULTRASONIC SCANNERS, QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF LIMB MOVEMENT DURING PHYSICAL THERAPY OF PATIENTS WITH EMTALLIC JOINT IMPLANTS OR EXTERNAL BRACES, AND PRECISE POINTING TO OVERLAY COMPUTER-GENERATED, HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY INFORMATION DURING VEHICLE REPAIR. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: LOW COST SIX DEGREES-OF-FREEDOM TRACKING DEVICE THAT IS SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT, RUGGED AND CAPABLE OF OPERATING IN ALL OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS WITHOUT DEGRADATION OF ITS HIGHLY ACCURATE, HIGH SPEED OUTPUTS. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE REAL TIME HEAD AND HAND TRACKING IN AUGMENTED REALITY SYSTEMS: TELEROBOTICS, TELECONFERENCING, FLIGHT SIMULATION, ENTERTAINMENT, MEDICAL IMAGING, REHABILITATION, ENGINEERING AND INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS.