Tracking system calibration using object position and orientation

A computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method comprising:

• receiving positional data of a tracked object from an optical sensor by a computing device as the object is pointed approximately toward the optical sensor;
• computing a first angle of the object with respect to an optical axis of the optical sensor using the received positional data;
• receiving inertial data corresponding to the object by the computing device, wherein a second angle of the object with respect to a plane normal to gravity can be computed from the inertial data;
• and
• determining a pitch of the optical sensor using the first angle and the second angle.

A tracking system, comprising:

• a tracked object that includes one or more inertial sensors, the tracked object to gather inertial data as the tracked object is pointed approximately toward the optical sensor, and to transmit the inertial data to a computing device;
• the optical sensor, to gather positional data of the tracked object as the object is pointed approximately toward the optical sensor, and to transmit the positional data to the computing device;
• and
• the computing device, to receive the inertial data and the positional data, to compute a first angle of the object with respect to an optical axis of the optical sensor using the received positional data, to compute a second angle of the object with respect to a plane normal to gravity from the inertial data, and to determine a pitch of the optical sensor using the first angle and the second angle.