Patent · US Active

Optical navigation apparatus using fixed beacons and a centroid sensing device

US7729515B2 · kind B2 · utility

157Cited by
26References
32Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 31, 2006
Grant dateJun 1, 2010
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 16, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T7/73
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention relates to an optical navigation system for determining a pose, which includes the position and orientation of an object in an environment. The optical navigation system uses a number of beacons affixed at known locations in the environment to provide electromagnetic radiation in a sequenced pattern. An on-board optic images the radiation from the beacons onto an on-board centroid sensing device to obtain an imaged distribution of the radiation on the on-board centroid sensing device. The centroid sensing device determines the centroid of the imaged distribution and provides centroid information to a navigation unit for determining the pose of the object from the centroid. The navigation system is particularly well-suited for navigating hand-held objects.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.