US 11,947,122 B1
Tracking system and method incorporating selective control of light sources of controller
Roman Golovanov, Helsinki (FI); Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Espoo (FI); and Juha Ala-Luhtala, Helsinki (FI)
Assigned to Varjo Technologies Oy, Helsinki (FI)
Filed by Varjo Technologies Oy, Helsinki (FI)
Filed on Dec. 8, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/063,541.
Int. Cl. G02B 27/01 (2006.01); G06F 3/01 (2006.01); H05B 47/125 (2020.01)
CPC G02B 27/0172 (2013.01) [G06F 3/012 (2013.01); H05B 47/125 (2020.01); G02B 2027/0138 (2013.01); G02B 2027/014 (2013.01); G02B 2027/0187 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tracking system for use in a head-mounted device (HMD), the tracking system comprising:
a plurality of light sources arranged spatially around at least one user-interaction controller of the HMD;
a controller-pose-tracking means arranged in the at least one user-interaction controller;
an HMD-pose-tracking means;
at least one camera arranged on a portion of the HMD that faces a real-world environment in which the HMD is in use; and
at least one processor configured to:
estimate a relative pose of the at least one user-interaction controller with respect to the HMD, based on controller-pose-tracking data generated by the controller-pose-tracking means and HMD-pose-tracking data generated by the HMD-pose-tracking means;
determine a sub-set of light sources from amongst the plurality of light sources that would be visible from a perspective of the at least one camera, based on the estimated relative pose of the at least one user-interaction controller with respect to the HMD and the arrangement of the plurality of light sources arranged spatially around the at least one user-interaction controller of the HMD;
selectively control the plurality of light sources such that the light sources of the sub-set are activated, whereas remaining light sources from amongst the plurality of light sources are deactivated;
process at least one image of the real-world environment, captured by the at least one camera, to identify an operational state of at least one light source that is visible in the at least one image, wherein the at least one image is indicative of an actual relative pose of the at least one user-interaction controller with respect to the HMD; and
correct the estimated relative pose of the at least one user-interaction controller with respect to the HMD to determine the actual relative pose of the at least one user-interaction controller with respect to the HMD, based on the operational state of the at least one light source.