Magnetic Sensor Synchronization for Body Pose Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current artificial reality systems face challenges in accurately tracking body poses due to occlusions, limited field of view, and interference from realistic lighting and clothing, which can lead to erroneous data and inaccurate gesture detection, especially in environments with complex lighting and outdoor settings.
Innovation Solution
The use of magnetic sensors positioned on the body to track pose accurately, synchronized through a primary sensor that manages wireless synchronization signals and sampling frequency, aligning with internal system events like camera exposure windows to enhance data accuracy and minimize interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If magnetic sensors are positioned on the user's body to track pose, then body pose tracking accuracy is improved, but interference between magnetic sensors, transmitter, and battery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides magnetic sensors into primary and non-primary groups, with primary sensors handling synchronization and data collection while non-primary sensors focus on magnetic field sensing. This segmentation reduces interference between components while maintaining tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
Primary magnetic sensors act as intermediaries between non-primary magnetic sensors and the external computing device. They collect and synchronize data from multiple sensors before transmitting to the computing device, reducing direct interference between all components.
2Measurement precision
If multiple magnetic sensors are used for body pose tracking, then tracking accuracy is improved, but bandwidth consumption and interference increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic synchronization where primary magnetic sensors send synchronization signals to non-primary sensors at regular intervals. This periodic action coordinates sampling across all sensors, improving tracking accuracy while managing bandwidth consumption through structured communication cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
Synchronization signals are sent in advance before actual magnetic field sampling occurs. This preliminary action ensures all sensors are ready to sample simultaneously, improving data coherence and tracking accuracy while optimizing bandwidth usage through pre-coordinated communication.
3Reliability
If magnetic sensors sample continuously, then body pose tracking reliability is improved, but synchronization difficulty and interference increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses acknowledgment strategies where primary sensors send synchronization signals and wait for confirmations from non-primary sensors. This feedback mechanism ensures reliable continuous sampling while managing synchronization complexity through structured communication protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
Non-primary magnetic sensors autonomously adjust their sampling based on received synchronization signals without requiring direct control from the computing device. This self-service approach improves tracking reliability while reducing overall system synchronization complexity.
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 approach provides occlusion-free tracking with higher accuracy for body orientation and position, increasing the reliability of body pose tracking in various environments while managing bandwidth and interference issues by synchronizing multiple sensors effectively.
Implementation Method 1
sampling, by each magnetic sensor of the plurality of magnetic sensors at the sampling time for the magnetic sensor, a magnetic field generated by a magnetic transmitter associated with the plurality of magnetic sensors to generate sensor data of the magnetic sensor
Data Source
AI summary
Magnetic sensor synchronization techniques for pose tracking in artificial reality systems include managing and sending, by one or more primary magnetic sensors, a wireless synchronization signal to other magnetic sensors to trigger sensing sampling. The primary magnetic sensor may generate and send sensor data to a wireless data hub that operates as a sensor data collector and transmits data for pose tracking in the system. Each of the other (non-primary) magnetic sensors, in response to receiving the wireless synchronization signal, updates its sampling starting clock based on new synchronization timing. Each of the magnetic sensors sends generated sensor data to its corresponding primary sensor or wireless data hub according to a different schedule to avoid conflicts between the various magnetic sensors. The synchronization process may be repeated a number of times if a sensor fails to receive or respond to a synchronization signal.