Accurate tracking is essential to a great virtual reality experience. The system needs to correctly determine the orientation and position of the user’s head to convincingly move the virtual world. Companies like Oculus and HTC are working on improved tracking systems and soon they could be facing competition from an ex-Oculus VP who has demonstrated a long range VR tracking system.
Jack McCauley was the vice president of engineering at Oculus up until the time Oculus released the Rift DK2. He has created a laser-based tracking system for virtual reality called the MEMS Tracking System. MEMS uses a mirror to shoot its laser in a singular direction for the purpose of accurate tracking.
MEMS starts off by scanning a cone area in front of it in a grid pattern to search for its target. It searches for a point of high reflectivity which is measured by the amount of laser light that returns to the origin point. Using a retroreflective marker on motion controllers or a headset enables the system to accurately find the object it’s looking for.
The retroreflective marker ensures that the system doesn’t continue to scan for a sufficiently bright reflection and that it locks on to the intended motion controller or headset quickly. Once it locks on the laser remains fixed on the market even if the headset or motion controller is moved around, this providing better tracking, and an improved virtual reality experience.
MEMs is a proof of concept right now but it’s certainly a step in the right direction, one that’s significantly going to improve the virtual reality experience as the technology gradually becomes mainstream.
Filed in . Read more about Oculus and Virtual Reality (VR). Source: roadtovr