Versatile tracking arrays for a navigation system and methods of recovering registration using the same

A method for operating a surgical system comprising navigation system, a robotic manipulator, and a manipulator controller, the navigation system comprising a first tracker support affixed to a rigid object and a first plurality of trackable elements secured to the first tracker support, a second tracker support affixed to the rigid object and a second plurality of trackable elements secured to the second tracker support, the first tracker support and the second tracker support adapted to be independently secured to the rigid object and separated by a distance, the navigation system comprising a localizer configured to track the first and second plurality of trackable elements, the method comprising:

• defining, with the navigation system, a tracking arrangement to be tracked based on a combination of the first and second plurality of trackable elements;
• registering, with the navigation system, a geometry of the tracking arrangement relative to the rigid object;
• tracking, with the navigation system, the rigid object by detecting the registered geometry of the tracking arrangement;
• controlling, with the manipulator controller, operation of the robotic manipulator;
• identifying, with the navigation system, a condition wherein at least one trackable element has been displaced relative to the registered geometry and the displacement of the at least one trackable element is not a candidate for recovering registration of the of the registered geometry;
• in response to identifying the condition, generating, with the navigation system, an instruction and communicating the instruction to the manipulator controller;
• and
• in response to receiving the instruction from the navigation system, interrupting, with the manipulator controller, operation of the robotic manipulator.