Stylus Locator with Unique Markers for 3D Scanning Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current three-dimensional scanning systems using manual probing with a stylus suffer from placement ambiguities due to uncertainties in marker location, which can lead to inaccurate scanning and require frequent stylus replacement.
Innovation Solution
A stylus with a locator featuring multiple unique markers, each with a different orientation, ensuring that at least two markers can be read by a camera from any viewpoint, thereby eliminating placement ambiguities and improving scanning accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single flat marker is used on the stylus, then the device complexity is reduced, but placement ambiguities occur and measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The single marker is segmented into multiple unique markers arranged in a specific geometric pattern on the locator. Each marker has a distinct orientation normal, allowing the system to distinguish between different positions and orientations of the stylus, thereby eliminating placement ambiguities while maintaining readable complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The marker configuration transitions from a two-dimensional flat marker to a three-dimensional arrangement of multiple markers with different orientation normals. This dimensional enhancement allows the camera to resolve ambiguities by detecting the spatial relationships between multiple markers, improving measurement precision without significantly increasing device complexity
2Ease of manufacture
If a single marker is used on the stylus, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to susceptibility to concealment and soiling
Solution Approach 1:
The single marker is divided into multiple unique markers distributed across the locator surface. This segmentation ensures that if one marker becomes concealed or soiled, the camera can still detect and read the remaining markers, maintaining reliable spatial position determination throughout the stylus lifecycle
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed with redundant markers from the outset, providing a buffer against marker degradation. This beforehand cushioning ensures that even when some markers become partially concealed or soiled during surgical procedures, the system maintains sufficient readable markers to determine stylus position reliably, extending stylus durability
3Device complexity
If a single marker is used on the stylus, then the device complexity is reduced, but scanning accuracy deteriorates due to placement ambiguities
Solution Approach 1:
The multiple unique markers are arranged in an asymmetric geometric pattern with different orientation normals, creating an asymmetric signature that the camera can use to determine the precise orientation and position of the stylus. This asymmetric arrangement eliminates the symmetry-induced ambiguities that plague single-marker or symmetric multi-marker systems, significantly improving scanning accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical positioning mechanisms with an optical detection system using multiple markers. The camera captures images of the marker arrangement, and computational algorithms determine the precise stylus position and orientation, achieving high scanning accuracy through optical and computational methods rather than mechanical means
Data Source
AI summary
A stylus for a manual probing three-dimensional scanning system and viewing system, the stylus including a probe, and a locator comprising a plurality of markers, each marker of the plurality of markers having a normal orientation and a code different from one another, wherein the plurality of markers are of a number, a position, and an orientation such that at least two visible markers of the plurality of markers can be read by a camera of the viewing system from any viewpoint under probing conditions.