User Manual Part 1

IS-900 User Guide Page 12 of 159

1. System Description

The IS-900 product family delivers precision motion tracking technology for simulators, training,

virtual, and immersive display systems. The IS-900, designed for dedicated, precision 6 degree

of freedom (6-DOF) motion tracking for both small tracking area simulators and large area virtual

environments.

This manual covers two IS-900 product configurations—the IS-900 SimTracker (Simulation

Tracker) and the IS-900 VETracker (Virtual Environment Tracker). The SimTracker is ideal for

smaller 3D environments such as cockpit or desktop simulators while the VETracker is ideal for

large immersive 3D environments. This manual also covers the wireless MicroTrax

devices for

the IS-900 System. Please note that OEM configurations are also available.

The IS-900 product design provides a great deal of flexibility for custom or OEM configurations.

While the specific configuration of your IS-900 system may vary from the SimTracker and

VETracker standard products, the fundamental set-up, calibration, and operation principles

remain the same as described in this manual.

The system operates on hybrid technology combining inertial and ultrasonic tracking. The output

of the miniature inertial components (both accelerometers and gyros found in each tracking

device) determines position and orientation of the tracking stations. Using advanced Kalman

filters, constant drift correction is applied by fusing the output of the inertial sensors with range

measurements obtained from the ultrasonic components. The result is full 6-DOF data that is

very smooth, precise, and free from jitter.

Advantages of the IS-900 technology include:

• Low cost system utilizes IS-900 technology for small area tracking

• Immune to metallic, most acoustic, and optical interference

• Sensor design eliminates acoustic transmitter “line of sight” blockage

• Consistent accuracy over entire tracking volume

• Factory calibration configurations available for accurate position mapping of acoustic

transmitters

• Superior motion prediction algorithms

• Integration of tracking devices into OEM applications

Wireless MicroTrax

Devices

The MicroTrax

wireless tracker modules for the IS-900 allow for untethered 6 degree of

freedom (6-DOF) tracking. They can be used along side wired tracking devices and the devices

themselves can be converted from wired to wireless by using different cable adapters.

The radio/battery modules (Wireless Transmitter Modules) have lithium polymer batteries with

enough capacity to provide 6-8 hours of continuous use and can be fully recharged in 3 hours.

The Transmitter Modules have a processor that detects if the unit has not moved within 10

minutes and will automatically stop tracking and turn itself off to extend the battery life / tracking

time. The device monitors the battery voltage and has an indicator that will flash to indicate a low

battery condition at approximately 1 hour of tracking left before the unit must be recharged. The

batteries can be recharged about 500 times before the length of time the charge lasts starts to

decline. The batteries are field replaceable when charge cycle deterioration renders them

ineffective.