The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 2002
Filed:
Nov. 01, 1999
Igor Khalfin, South Burlington, VT (US);
Herbert R. Jones, Jr., Williston, VT (US);
Polhemus Inc., Colchester, VT (US);
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for position/orientation tracking within a bounded volume employ at least one stationary sensor, called a “witness sensor,” having a fixed position and orientation near or within the volume to account for electromagnetic distortion. One or more probe sensors are placed on an object to be tracked within the volume, and the output of each witness sensor is used to compute the parameters of a non-real effective electromagnetic source. The parameters of the effective source are used as inputs to the computation of position and orientation as measured by each probe sensor, as if the object were in the non-distorted electromagnetic field produced by the effective source or sources. In addition to trackers for helmet-mounted displays in aircraft, tank, and armored-vehicle applications, the invention finds utility in any electromagnetic tracking system which might be subject to electromagnetic distortion or interference. Such application areas include electromagnetic motion capture systems, and medical systems and instruments, among others.