Integration of Inertial Tracking and Position Aiding for Motion Capture

摘要

An integrated inertial motion capture system includes external position aiding such as optical tracking. The integrated system addresses and corrects misalignment between the inertial (relative) and positioning reference (external) frames. This is especially beneficial when it is not feasible to rely on magnetometers to reference the heading of the inertial system. This alignment allows effective tracking of yaw in a common reference frame for all inertial sensing units, even those with no associated positional measurements. The disclosed systems and methods also enable an association to be formed between the inertial sensing units and positional measurements.

主权项

1. An inertial sensor system to provide drift-free segment trajectories for a jointed segmented body having multiple segments wherein adjacent segments are connected by joints, the system comprising:
a plurality of inertial sensor units responsive to translation and rotation, each being configured for mounting to a segment of the body; a tracking system configured to track a position of at least one of the segments in a frame of reference external to the body; and a tracking station including a processor configured to collect inertial sensed data from the plurality of inertial sensor units and to estimate the positions and orientations of the plurality of inertial sensor units with respect to one another, correct the estimated positions and orientations for relative drift based on a condition that adjacent segments remain connected at the interstitial joints, and to receive positional data from the tracking system regarding the position of the at least one segment and to adjust, as a group, the corrected estimated positions and orientations based on the position of the at least one segment to eliminate overall drift of segment trajectories in the frame of reference of the tracking system.