Influence of marker arrangement on positioning accuracy of objects in a virtual environment

The paper presents results of studies undertaken by the authors, aimed at determination of character of influence of marker arrangement on real-time measurement of position and orientation of an object, using an exemplary optical tracking system PST-55. Such a system can be used for interaction in immersive Virtual Reality applications. To ensure better immersion of a user in a virtual environment, it is necessary to directly translate its actions into 3D image presented by the VR application. It is possible, among other things, by the application of systems for tracking user’s movements. During the presented studies, an object with infrared-reflective markers deployed on its surface was placed in the center of a rotary table, then it was measured by the tracking system to determine the influence of the object angular position on the accuracy of determination of its position and orientation by the examined device. The measurements were performed for several different arrangements of markers, to formulate guidelines for their deployment on objects used for work in a virtual environment.