External Tracking Apparatus for Head-Mounted Display Field of View
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Solution Overview
Problem
Head-mounted displays with fixed image capturing devices often lose tracking of target objects when they move out of the display's field of view, leading to a poor user experience, especially in environments with few identifiable features.
Innovation Solution
A tracking apparatus comprising an image capturing device and a processor that generates real-time images and calculates pose information for target objects. This information is transmitted to the head-mounted display to assist in calculating fusion pose information, effectively expanding the display's field of view.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a head-mounted display uses a fixed number of image capturing devices to generate real-time images, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but the field of view remains fixed and tracking is lost when target objects move out of view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external tracking device as an intermediary to capture images of target objects and transmit pose information to the head-mounted display. This mediator extends the effective field of view without requiring the head-mounted display to carry additional image capturing devices, thus resolving the contradiction between expanded coverage and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent shifts the tracking capability from the head-mounted display's own cameras to an external dimension by using a separate tracking device. This dimensional shift allows the system to track objects beyond the original field of view while keeping the head-mounted display's hardware configuration simple.
2Reliability
If the head-mounted display relies solely on its own image capturing devices for tracking, then the system structure is simplified, but tracking reliability is reduced when target objects are outside the field of view or in environments with few identifiable features
Solution Approach 1:
The external tracking device serves as a reliable intermediary that specializes in capturing target object information. This dedicated tracking component improves reliability for objects outside the field of view or in feature-poor environments, while the head-mounted display maintains its simple structure by relying on the mediator's data.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking device performs preliminary action by continuously capturing and calculating pose information of target objects in advance, making this data available to the head-mounted display whenever needed, thus ensuring reliable tracking without requiring the display to perform complex image processing itself.
3Loss of information
If the head-mounted display uses multiple image capturing devices to maintain a fixed field of view, then tracking coverage is limited to the visual dead-zone, but adding more devices increases device complexity and power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The external tracking device acts as an energy-efficient intermediary that handles the computationally intensive task of capturing and processing images of target objects. This transfers the energy consumption burden from the head-mounted display to the external device, preventing information loss without significantly increasing the display's power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the image capturing and processing function from the head-mounted display to an external tracking device. This extraction eliminates the need for the display to consume additional power for extra cameras and processing, while still preventing tracking information loss through the external device's continuous monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
A tracking apparatus, method, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium thereof are provided. The apparatus determines whether a target object appears in a field of view, wherein the target object is tracked by a head-mounted display. The apparatus calculates a first pose information corresponding to the target object based on a real-time image in response to determining that the target object appears in the field of view. The apparatus transmits the first pose information to the head-mounted display to make the head-mounted display calculate a fusion pose information of the target object according to the first pose information.