Active Retroreflectors for HMD Tracking Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current head-mounted display (HMD) tracking systems are cumbersome due to the need for additional wired peripherals like emitters or sensors, which require lengthy wires and complex setups, limiting their adoption and use.
Innovation Solution
The use of corner reflectors positioned in the interactive environment to reflect a scanning beam emitted by the HMD, allowing for precise tracking of the HMD's location and orientation without the need for additional wired devices, using a system with an emitter, detector, and processor to determine the HMD's position based on the reflection times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional wired peripherals like emitters or sensors are used for HMD tracking, then tracking precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to lengthy wires and complex setups
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the tracking function from complex wired peripheral systems and implements it using simple corner reflectors that passively reflect light back to the HMD, eliminating the need for additional wired emitters or sensors and their associated cables
Solution Approach 2:
The corner reflectors serve themselves by passively reflecting the HMD's emitted light back to the detector without requiring external power sources, control systems, or wiring, thereby simplifying the overall system while maintaining tracking precision
2Measurement precision
If additional wired peripherals like emitters or sensors are used for HMD tracking, then tracking precision is improved, but ease of operation worsens due to cumbersome placement and connection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the cumbersome wired components from the tracking system and replaces them with wireless corner reflectors that can be freely positioned without connection constraints, dramatically improving ease of placement while preserving tracking accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using active wired sensors that require power and connections, the system inverts the approach by using passive corner reflectors that simply reflect light, transforming a complex active system into a simple passive one that is much easier to deploy
3Ease of operation
If corner reflectors are used instead of wired peripherals, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision may worsen due to potential loss of tracking accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/wired connection-based tracking system with an optical system using corner reflectors and light reflection, achieving both ease of operation and maintained precision through non-contact optical measurement
Solution Approach 2:
The corner reflectors act as intermediaries that facilitate communication between the HMD and the environment without requiring direct wired connections, enabling precise tracking through light reflection while maintaining operational simplicity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides accurate and responsive tracking of the HMD's location and orientation, enabling a high-quality virtual reality experience without the complexity and aesthetic issues of traditional setups, allowing for easier placement and use of HMD systems.
Implementation Method 1
each of the plurality of reflectors is configured to reflect the scanning beam back to the HMD along a return path that is substantially parallel and substantially coincident to an emission path along which the scanning beam was emitted from the emitter
Data Source
AI summary
A head-mounted display (HMD) is provided, including: an emitter configured to emit a scanning beam into an interactive environment, the scanning beam being configured to continuously trace a predefined scan pattern; a detector configured to detect reflections of the scanning beam back to the HMD by each of a plurality of modulating retroreflectors; a processor configured to, for each detected reflection of the scanning beam, analyze the detected reflection to identify the modulating retroreflector that produced the reflection, and further determine a time at which the reflection occurred, wherein the times at which the reflections occurred and the identification of the modulating retroreflectors that produced the reflections are used to determine a location or orientation of the HMD in the interactive environment; a display device configured to render a view of a virtual space that is determined based on the determined location or orientation of the HMD.