"Occipital Positional Tracking" that makes it the same tracking performance as a high-end terminal even with a cheap VR headset appeared

PSVR·Oculus Rift·HTC ViveAlthough high-end VR headsets like high-end VR headsets boast high tracking performance, the tracking accuracy of the headset requires external cameras and base stations, which makes the cost high. The tracking performance of such a high-end class VR headset is compared with an inexpensive cameraIMUAll-in-one platform to do with "Occipital Positional Tracking"Has appeared.

Occipital Positional Tracking
https://occipital.com/tracking

For VR / AR headsets that interact with nonexistent objects and users, "positional tracking", which keeps track of their position and movement, is one of the most important functions. For example, if your position can not be tracked correctly in VR space, the distance between the flying ball and the enemy to attack will be incorrect, making it impossible to play the game normally. HTC Vive boasts the highest tracking performance, by placing base stations in the corners of the room, you can accurately track the position of the user in the "play area" in sub-millimeter increments and move around freely .

Occipital has unveiled a platform to realize position tracking, which usually requires various sensors, with only an inexpensive monocular camera and IMU.6 DoFIt is a platform that enables position tracking, 3D mapping and obstacle recognition of multi-platform, regardless of device, it is possible to add high-performance tracking function in millimeter and millisecond in AR / VR Possible.


In addition, Occipital is also a manufacturer that made "Structure Sensor" which scans an object by attaching it to a smartphone or the like.

"Structure Sensor", a scan sensor that enables easy 3D scan of objects and AR display and 3D printing - GIGAZINE


There are two types of Occipital Positional Tracking: the low cost version "Monocular + IMU" and the higher performance "Stereo + IMU". The price of "Monocular + IMU" is 9 dollars (about 1000 yen) for one set if the production scale of the VR headset is 5000 to 10,000 units, and 6 dollars (about 700 yen) for 1 million units. "Stereo + IMU" is $ 16 (about 1700 yen) for 5000 to 10,000 units, and $ 11 (about 1200 yen) for 1 million units. It is possible to make a device with a high performance tracking platform even for companies that can not mass-produce because the price setting is made considering consumer machines of less than 10,000 units.


In the VR headset that actually carries Occipital Positional Tracking, you can see how the user's room is mapped and recognizing obstacles from the following movie.

Monocular 6-DoF Positional Tracking from Occipital - YouTube


Tracking will start in a few seconds from device startup.


When tracking starts, the light hits the position and scale of the furniture in the direction that the camera is pointing ......


A line will be drawn precisely from what the shape was recognized, such as a desk or a bed.


It is like this if you cut off the camera and display only the mapped items.


When you display the VR graphic, obstacles around you will be invisible. However, when the user approaches an obstacle, a line of obstacles mapped on the VR graphic emerges and avoids collision with obstacles. Since it is possible to map the position and magnitude of the object, the graphic displayed in the real world will recognize the obstacle if it is an AR headset, "If you throw the ball you hit the wall" "Monster rides on the bed" Operations such as can be enabled.