Difference between revisions of "Lighthouse"
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==How Does It Work?== | ==How Does It Work?== | ||
| − | Central to the Lighthouse technology are the [[ | + | Central to the Lighthouse technology are the [[Beacons]]. These Beacons, also known as [[SteamVR Base Stations|Base Stations]], are small rectangular objects placed in the tracking area. They serve as reference points for any positionally tracked devices such as the HMDs and controllers. Base Stations perform this function by flooding the room with a non-visible light, the receptors on the tracked devices would intercept the light and figure out where they are in relation to the Base Stations. Multiple Base Stations (2 for SteamVR) allow the tracked devices to figure out where they are in the 3D space. |
Each Base Station contains an IR beacon called [[Sync Blinker]] and 2 laser emitters that spin rapidly. 60 times per second, the Sync Blinker would emit a synchronization pulse and 1 of the 2 spinning lasers would sweep a beam across the room. The receptors, HMDs and controllers, are covered with photosensors that recognizes the synchronization pulse and the laser beams. When it detects a synchronization pulse, the receptor starts to count til one of its photosensors is hit by the laser beam. Lighthouse calculates ''When'' the photosensor is hit by the laser and ''Where'' that photosensor is located to find the exact position of the receptor in relation to the Base Station. When there are 2 Base Stations, the position and the orientation of the receptors in the 3D space of the room is established. | Each Base Station contains an IR beacon called [[Sync Blinker]] and 2 laser emitters that spin rapidly. 60 times per second, the Sync Blinker would emit a synchronization pulse and 1 of the 2 spinning lasers would sweep a beam across the room. The receptors, HMDs and controllers, are covered with photosensors that recognizes the synchronization pulse and the laser beams. When it detects a synchronization pulse, the receptor starts to count til one of its photosensors is hit by the laser beam. Lighthouse calculates ''When'' the photosensor is hit by the laser and ''Where'' that photosensor is located to find the exact position of the receptor in relation to the Base Station. When there are 2 Base Stations, the position and the orientation of the receptors in the 3D space of the room is established. | ||
Revision as of 14:07, 4 July 2015
This page is a stub, please expand it if you have more information.Valve plans to make Lighthouse freely available to all hardware manufactures.
Contents
How Does It Work?
Central to the Lighthouse technology are the Beacons. These Beacons, also known as Base Stations, are small rectangular objects placed in the tracking area. They serve as reference points for any positionally tracked devices such as the HMDs and controllers. Base Stations perform this function by flooding the room with a non-visible light, the receptors on the tracked devices would intercept the light and figure out where they are in relation to the Base Stations. Multiple Base Stations (2 for SteamVR) allow the tracked devices to figure out where they are in the 3D space.
Each Base Station contains an IR beacon called Sync Blinker and 2 laser emitters that spin rapidly. 60 times per second, the Sync Blinker would emit a synchronization pulse and 1 of the 2 spinning lasers would sweep a beam across the room. The receptors, HMDs and controllers, are covered with photosensors that recognizes the synchronization pulse and the laser beams. When it detects a synchronization pulse, the receptor starts to count til one of its photosensors is hit by the laser beam. Lighthouse calculates When the photosensor is hit by the laser and Where that photosensor is located to find the exact position of the receptor in relation to the Base Station. When there are 2 Base Stations, the position and the orientation of the receptors in the 3D space of the room is established.
Base Stations are vulnerable to occlusion. They require line of sight to the tracked objects. Base Stations are designed to be scalable. 2 Base Stations are placed in opposite sides of the room to minimize this problem. More Base Station can be placed to increase the tracking range.
Tracking Volume
HTC Vive
Non-VR Applications of Lighthouse
Lighthouse could be used as a general purpose indoor positional tracking system. It be used in robotics, drones and smartphones. A receiver can be placed in these machines, allowing them to be accurately tracked with 6DOF.
History and Miscellaneous
The chief architect of the Lighthouse tracking system is Alan Yates.
One of the predecessors to Lighthouse is to plaster the room with QR codes.
