AR Headset Inside-Out Tracking for Ship Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing augmented reality systems fail to provide synchronized and continuous overlay information with precise position and orientation tracking, especially in challenging environments like onboard a ship, where ambient lighting, metal surfaces, and limited space hinder accurate tracking and information display.
Innovation Solution
A head-mounted display system with an inside-out tracking mechanism using active markers and a lightweight computer for real-time monocular AR graphics rendering, which includes a camera and markers that provide continuous position and orientation tracking, allowing overlay information to be accurately displayed on objects regardless of user or object movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional AR systems use fixed location display, then device complexity is reduced, but information synchronization with object view is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical tracking systems with a camera-based visual tracking approach. The system uses a camera to capture images of markers on objects, and a computer automatically determines position and orientation from these images, eliminating the need for complex mechanical tracking mechanisms while achieving real-time information synchronization with the user's view of the object.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual markers that are copied onto objects, which can then be detected by the camera system. These markers serve as visual copies or representations of the objects' positions and orientations, allowing the system to track and synchronize information without direct mechanical connection or complex sensing of the objects themselves.
2Measurement precision
If AR systems use outside-in tracking with cameras at fixed locations, then user position tracking is improved, but device portability and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional outside-in tracking approach by using inside-out tracking. Instead of placing cameras at fixed locations to track the user, the camera is attached to the user's head or display device, allowing the system to determine user position and orientation from the user's perspective. This inversion simplifies system setup and improves portability while maintaining tracking precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the user's own device (head-mounted display or portable device) to perform the tracking function. The camera attached to the user's device automatically captures marker images and the computer determines position and orientation, allowing the system to serve itself without requiring external tracking infrastructure or complex setup procedures.
3Measurement precision
If AR systems rely on visible tracking references, then tracking accuracy is improved, but the aesthetic appearance and ease of operation worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses markers with specific visual characteristics (such as contrasting colors or patterns) that can be easily detected by the camera system. These markers can be designed to blend with or stand out from the object background, allowing accurate tracking while maintaining aesthetic appearance. The markers' visual properties enable reliable detection without requiring obvious or intrusive tracking references.
4Loss of information
If AR systems use wire synchronization for information display, then information accuracy is improved, but device portability and ease of operation worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical wire connections with wireless communication methods. The system uses wireless data transmission to synchronize information between the computer and the portable display device, eliminating the need for physical cables while maintaining information accuracy. This substitution enables true portability and ease of operation without sacrificing data reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A head-mounted display provides a user with an augmented view of an object being viewed; a tracking mechanism such as a camera repeatedly determine the position and orientation of the head-mounted display relative the object being viewed (figure 1); and a computer system provides information for the augmented view and repeatedly updates the augmented view of the object being viewed based on the determined position and orientation of the display. The head-mounted display may be a see-through display; it may be video-based or optical-based, and it may be monoscopic and stereoscopic. The tracking mechanism determines its position using one or more markers or beacons on the object being viewed. The markers may be active or passive, including light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit invisible light.