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Vol: 61(75) No: 1 / March 2016      

A New Sensor Array System and Methods for the Measurement of 3D Body and Parts Movements
Shahidul Islam
Mgestyk Technologies, Inc., 80 Aberdeen Street, Suite 220, K1S 5R5, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, phone: (613) 591-1210 x 203, e-mail: shahid@mgestyk.com, web: http://www.mgestyk.com
Cristian Gadea
NCCT Laboratory, University of Ottawa, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 161 Louis Pasteur, Room B-306, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, Canada
Bogdan Ionesu
Mgestyk Technologies, Inc., 80 Aberdeen Street, Suite 220, K1S 5R5, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, e-mail: bogdan@mgestyk.com, web: http://www.mgestyk.com
Dan Ionescu
NCCT Laboratory, University of Ottawa, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 161 Louis Pasteur, Room B-306, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, Canada


Keywords: inertial measurement unit, sensor array, magnetic angular rate, pose estimation, virtual environments.

Abstract
The recently renewed consumer interest in virtual reality (VR) has created significant demand for accurate full-body tracking solutions. Existing full-body motion tracking solutions from academia and industry have so far required elaborate wired installations, exotic sensor components, lengthy calibration procedures, and were subject to accumulated error. This paper describes a Sensor Array System that uses multiple MEMS-based Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) for calculating the complete body poses of a subject in a dynamic environment. The modular design and wireless connectivity of the sensor system allows the user to get into and out of the gear quickly and move around freely without having to worry about wires. The system can generate full-body orientation frames at a rate higher than 100Hz. This system can be used to augment the human-computer interface devices used to control already-existing VR systems by mapping the one-to-one movements of the user into the virtual world and producing accurate data in real-time, thereby enhancing the 3D immersive experience of the user. The paper describes the motivations for the architecture selected. The detailed design and implementation of a functional full-body sensor system is presented, including the pose estimation calculations required for tracking the moving body parts. The observed accuracy of the system is also discussed.

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