Modular extension of inertial controller for six DOF mixed reality input
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for holding a wireless hand-held input controller being used in a three dimensional (3D) environment for augmented reality or for virtual reality, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing comprising;
a first end and a second end; and
a central coupling portion located between said first and second ends, and wherein the wireless hand-held input controller and the central coupling portion are configured relative to one another so that the wireless hand-held input controller is able to be removably attached to the central coupling portion;
a first optically reflective marker at or proximate the first end of the housing;
a second optically reflective marker at or proximate the second end of the housing; and
wherein the central coupling portion is positioned between the first and second optically reflective markers and wherein the position is defined by a fixed geometrical relationship between the central coupling portion and each of the first and second optically reflective markers, such that optical tracking of the wireless hand-held input controller when located in the 3D environment is enhanced when coupled to the central coupling portion, an enhancement occurring based on a determination of the position of the central coupling portion relative to the location of the first and second optically reflective markers as tracked in the 3D environment.
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Abstract
A modular holding fixture for selectively coupling to a wireless hand-held inertial controller to provide passive optical and inertial tracking in a slim form-factor for use with a head mounted display that operates with six degrees of freedom by fusing (i) data related to the position of the controller derived from a forward-facing depth camera located in the head mounted display with (ii) data relating to the orientation of the controller derived from an inertial measurement unit located in the controller.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for holding a wireless hand-held input controller being used in a three dimensional (3D) environment for augmented reality or for virtual reality, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing comprising; a first end and a second end; and a central coupling portion located between said first and second ends, and wherein the wireless hand-held input controller and the central coupling portion are configured relative to one another so that the wireless hand-held input controller is able to be removably attached to the central coupling portion; a first optically reflective marker at or proximate the first end of the housing; a second optically reflective marker at or proximate the second end of the housing; and wherein the central coupling portion is positioned between the first and second optically reflective markers and wherein the position is defined by a fixed geometrical relationship between the central coupling portion and each of the first and second optically reflective markers, such that optical tracking of the wireless hand-held input controller when located in the 3D environment is enhanced when coupled to the central coupling portion, an enhancement occurring based on a determination of the position of the central coupling portion relative to the location of the first and second optically reflective markers as tracked in the 3D environment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system comprising:
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a head-mounted display device (HMD) comprising; a processor; a wearable stereoscopic display adapted for displaying one of an augmented reality (AR) environment or a virtual reality (VR) environment; and an optical sensor system that produces location data at a particular instant of time for a wireless hand-held input controller, wherein the location data is defined by x, v and z coordinates; the wireless hand-held input controller comprising; an inertial measurement unit (IMU) comprising one or more sensors for determining orientation data of the wireless hand-held input controller and wherein the orientation data is defined by pitch (elevation angle), yaw (azimuth angle) and roll (rotation) relative to a predetermined frame of reference; and a microcontroller that communicates to the processor of the HMD one or more user inputs relative to the orientation data; and a holding fixture comprising; a housing comprising; a first end and a second end; and a central coupling portion located between said first and second ends, and wherein the wireless hand-held input controller and the central coupling portion are configured relative to one another so that the wireless hand-held input controller is able to be removably attached to the central coupling portion; a first optically reflective marker at or proximate the first end of the housing; a second optically reflective marker at or proximate the second end of the housing; wherein the location of the central coupling portion is between the first and second optically reflective markers and is defined by a fixed geometrical relationship between the central coupling portion and each of the optically reflective markers; and wherein the processor of the HMD uses the orientation data as provided by the IMU of the wireless hand-held input controller and the location data of the wireless hand-held input controller as determined by the processor of the HMD from the locations of the first and second optically reflective markers by the optical sensor system of the HMD to determine location and orientation of the wireless hand-held input controller in reference to the HMD with six degrees of freedom. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A holding fixture for use with a wireless hand-held controller that includes a microcontroller, an inertial measurement unit, a communications radio and one or more buttons configured and positioned for selective actuation with a finger or thumb of a user, the holding fixture comprising:
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a housing having a first end and a second end; a first optically reflective marker at or proximate the first end of the housing; a second optically reflective marker at or proximate the second end of the housing; and a docking portion located on the housing between the first optically reflective marker and the second optically reflective marker, the docking portion having a size and shape that is complementary of the size and shape of the wireless hand-held controller and is configured to selectively couple the wireless hand-held controller to the holding fixture in a fixed spatial relationship relative to the first optically reflective marker and the second optically reflective marker. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification