Design and evaluation of a SteamVR tracker for training applications – simulations and measurements

Virtual reality (VR) has become a realistic alternative to conventional learning methods in numerous fields including military training. Accurate and precise tracking of a user wearing a head-mounted display is necessary to achieve an immersive VR experience. The widely available SteamVR system, where licensed users can design and construct trackers optimized for a given application can be an alternative to very expensive professional motion tracking. This paper presents the complete design process of a SteamVR tracker dedicated to a shooting simulation in a VR environment. We describe the optimization and simulation of the tracker’s shape and configuration of the sensors. In the simulation phase the developed model had better parameters than its commercial counterparts. Next, the optimized prototype was constructed and configured. The dedicated and automated measuring arrangement provided experimental verification of the tracker’s performance. Tracking performance as well as the accuracy and precision of both position and orientation measurements were determined and compared with simulations, which proved that the simulation software can accurately predict selected properties of the proposed tracker.