Hi People I'm currently doing some research on positional tracking. I didn't know if there were any people on the forum who really have extensive knowledge on the matter? What it is I'm actually looking for is a positional tracking package that can work in vast open spaces on a mobile devise to allow accuracy of a VR/AR image it's one area of my project I'm working on that isn't essentially needed but would be a great added bonus to be able to include, any info would be greatly appreciatedThank you

Needs to be a bit more precise! (Maybe it's called local)Also does not have to be as distant as GPS, however GPS would work if the tracking was precise enough to gain a 1mm tolerance! It needs to track a users position at certain co-ordinate and then display the image as near to precisely from a point of referenceAlso I'll just add I don't think the tracking needs to be picked up from a satellite! As there are predetermined engineering marks already in play in construction I believe the the point of reference needs to be picked up/read from a couple/few of these engineering marks as all the the dimensions and measurements are already accounted for from the plans, then from that point the users location needs to be read from say lasers positioned around the user?I will add I know nothing about positional tracking other than what I have read over the last day!So if none of this makes sense please forgive me however maybe somebody could elaborate and point me in the right direction

Currently the only method that can get 1mm accuracy is optical mocap. So for large area you want the kind of Mocap Setups they use to make films like Avatar, Lord of the Rings etc. With high def CCDs getting cheaper and using IR LEDs instead of those expensive reflectors it might be possible to set up a Mocap studio more cheaply these days.

Thanks does my theory make sense if you're up on the positional tracking?This is how I see it in construction there is already a virtual mapped out design made of equations and numbers that are determined from pre-determined marker points/engineering marks, from what I've said previously do you think it would be possible for the the software to gain point of reference from the pre-determined engineering marks already present in construction? Then the user could be determined by a series of lasers? My point I'm trying to get to is that if the pre-determined engineering marks are sufficient to map the outline of the image accurately then surely if that info is passed on from the device itself surely the lasers that track the user could determine the correct point of reference from the layout and engineering points of the plans themselves ?Just theory but I'm pretty sure it could work and there would be no point to using GPS etc?

I dont know exactly what you are doing but t sounds like what you probably want is QR codes (and ignore my post about infrared mocap). Valve has successfully used QR codes in VR demonstrations for motion tracking. QR codes carry data like a bar code so you have the option of writing the co ordinates into the QR code or just a serial number for use with a database. If a camera can see the corners of the QR code then as the QR code is of known size and dimensions a cellphone can tell its 3d position and orientation relative to the QR code. Its a simple triangulation calculation from the four corners. So if a cell phone can see at least one QR code with a known fixed position it knows exactly where it is. With some clever programming it will be able to tell which square is which/where before it is close enough to read it by its position relative to the other known qr codes.

Positional Tracking for vast open spaces? | Meta Community Forums

23 Replies

MrMonkeybat
Explorer
12 years ago
Magnetic tracking is very short range, Razor Hydras about 2 feet, Sixence claims Stem will have a range of 10ft but I am not aware of any independent verification of this, magnetic fields would also be affected by steel beams.

I can see no reason why that radio frequency tracking system cannot scale up to larger areas with more aerial arrays on tripods, it should also be able to track multiple people. But it will also have interference from steel beams, smart software could hopefully correct for interference. Sounds like Steve Perlman has radio mocap on his to do list but there is no telling how long you would have to wait for someone to perfect that. You could try contacting the Person who made that home brew radio tracking video.

So if you wanted to press ahead with development now with proven techniques with known limitations you would have to, ape the animation industry, and use several motorized infrared cameras on tripods tracking a helmet with ir led pattern on it. But this would only work for one person at a time.
HAWKEYE481
Honored Guest
12 years ago
"mrmonkeybat" wrote:
Magnetic tracking is very short range, Razor Hydras about 2 feet, Sixence claims Stem will have a range of 10ft but I am not aware of any independent verification of this, magnetic fields would also be affected by steel beams.

I can see no reason why that radio frequency tracking system cannot scale up to larger areas with more aerial arrays on tripods, it should also be able to track multiple people. But it will also have interference from steel beams, smart software could hopefully correct for interference. Sounds like Steve Perlman has radio mocap on his to do list but there is no telling how long you would have to wait for someone to perfect that. You could try contacting the Person who made that home brew radio tracking video.

So if you wanted to press ahead with development now with proven techniques with known limitations you would have to, ape the animation industry, and use several motorized infrared cameras on tripods tracking a helmet with ir led pattern on it. But this would only work for one person at a time.

Thanks mate (I am thinking RF might be best for less interference) I'm also currently still thinking of the best way to calibrate the image with reality as it needs to be taken from the point of reference both reality and Augmented then need to be calibrated together once this problem is solved there will be a very basic outline for the positional tracking I will go forward with. I'm sure it's going to be a trial and error process but have faith I'll get there :D
HAWKEYE481
Honored Guest
12 years ago
"HAWKEYE481" wrote:
"mrmonkeybat" wrote:
But the like the QR codes the LED dots on the hard hat are of known dimensions so as long as one camera keep track of you the angle, orientation and distance to the camera can be calculated.

I should correct myself here, even with a zoom lens the depth data from a single camera as triangulating from width of the head at distance small angles lead to larger movements. So two cameras would be needed for that method at range.

A laser would of course give very good depth data from allowing full position tracking from a single tripod. But I would expect difficulties when adapting surveyor instruments as they where not designed for tracking moving targets.

Just saw this video on another thread. Radio based positional tracking I am very impressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYyFUQbWC1E

I was thinking more along the lines of 2-3 tripods to track the user/device

Just to clarify the Lasers and tripod in question I'm referring to, the thing is with this type of laser it cotinually spins on one level so it's not so much for distance but when used with a staff and receiver that's usually set to a pre-determined level on the staff you can accurately calculate levels.

If a similar device could be used for positional tracking the lasers would have to be modified to suit

Forum Discussion

Positional Tracking for vast open spaces?

23 Replies

Related Content

Quest 3 lost all tracking

Tracking last location

Not Enough Space - But I do?!

Tracking, display, boundary issues - Q3

body tracking: hand tracking + controller simultaneously