Apparatus and method for identifying the orientation of an object

摘要

The orientation of an object is determined by placing a predetermined arrangement of substantially point-sized light sources or reflectors at a predetermined distance and a predetermined direction from the object. An output signal is derived from an opto-electronic sensing device configured to sense the positions of the light sources or reflectors in two-dimensions relative to the optical axis of the sensing device. The output signal is processed to determine the orientation of the object calculating rotation about an axis parallel to the optical axis using the sensed relative positions of the light sources or reflectors. Rotation about axes orthogonal to the optical axis are calculated using the sensed relative positions of the light sources or reflectors and the predetermined arrangement of the actual light sources or reflectors. <IMAGE>