Positional tracking systems and methods
AssigneeValve Corporation
InventorsAlan Yates, Jeremy Adam Selan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Optical positional tracking systems that may be used in virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) applications are described. Exemplary implementations comprise one or more receivers and one or more transmitters. Exemplary transmitters contain two orthogonal rotors that each emit a fan-shaped laser beam. Each beam is swept as the rotors are spun at constant speed. Exemplary optical receivers can be relatively small, and mounted at convenient locations on the VR display. These receivers consist of small optical detectors that may be mounted on head-mounted VR displays. Exemplary systems determine position by measuring the time at which each swept beam crosses each receiver/detector.
Claims20
An optical tracking system, comprising:
- a movable tracked object comprising one or more optical sensors that are rigidly attached to the movable tracked object;
- and
- an optical transmitter, the optical transmitter comprising a rotor and an optical source, wherein the optical source is configured to emit an optical beam toward one or more mirrors disposed within the rotor, wherein the one or more mirrors are configured to split and redirect the optical beam to emit two optical beams from respective optical ports of the rotor, and wherein the rotor is configured to rotate to cause the two optical beams to sweep across a tracking volume at tilt angles that are inclined with respect to each other during repeating sweep cycles.
An optical tracking system, comprising:
- a movable tracked object;
- one or more optical sensors disposed on the movable tracked object;
- and
- an optical transmitter comprising:
- a rotor, the rotor including:
- a first optical port configured to emit a first optical beam at a first tilt angle;
- a second optical port configured to emit a second optical beam at a second tilt angle that is inclined with respect to the first tilt angle;
- and
- one or more mirrors;
- and
- an optical source configured to emit a source optical beam toward the one or more mirrors,
- wherein the one or more mirrors are configured to split and redirect the source optical beam to cause the first optical beam to be emitted from the first optical port and the second optical beam to be emitted from the second optical port, and
- wherein the rotor is configured to rotate over repeating sweep cycles to sweep the first optical beam and the second optical beam across a tracking volume.
A method, comprising:
- rotating a rotor of an optical transmitter over a plurality of sweep cycles at one revolution per sweep cycle;
- and
- emitting, during the rotating, and by an optical source of the optical transmitter, an optical beam toward one or more mirrors disposed in the rotor, the one or more mirrors splitting and redirecting the optical beam to emit a first optical beam from a first optical port of the rotor at a first tilt angle and a second optical beam from a second optical port of the rotor at a second tilt angle that is inclined with respect to the first tilt angle,
- wherein the rotating and the emitting cause the first optical beam to sweep across a tracking volume at the first tilt angle and the second optical beam to sweep across the tracking volume at the second tilt angle during the plurality of sweep cycles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.