Optical Tracking

[halBRY]

We want to use the Vicon trackers to track the physical arm so that we can measure its position. We will need to figure out how we want to add this data into our system to be recorded and visualized.

[halBRY]

We can connect to the Vicon tracking system using the mini-router network, and can open the connection in Unity with the Vicon plug-in. We will need to figure out what to do with this connection. Currently, a trackable object has been set up for the end effector of the arm, but, ideally, we will track multiple joints.

[halBRY]

Tracking multiple joints with the smaller dots is a bit unreliable. We'll need to figure out a clearer way forward.

[halBRY]

Using a mix of dots and spheres, we are able to track the end joint and visualize it in Unity.

[halBRY]

Using the Vicon SDK, we are able to access the Vicon data in Omniverse

[halBRY]

At the EVL, we also have access to an OptiTrack system. If we have the time or if CAVE usage dictates, we can use this in addition to/instead of Vicon.

[halBRY]

With OptiTrack, we are able to use either simple VRPN scripts or a test tool from the NatNetSDK to confirm the connection. We can also access a snapshot of the data through a web interface. It is not clear yet what is the best option to get the data from one of these methods into Unity or Omniverse.

[halBRY]

Using the web interface, OptiTrack data can be displayed in Unity. It's pretty slow, though.

[halBRY]

I've figured out a method to zero-out the data from OptiTrack, but it does require measuring by hand, which may not be entirely accurate. We should look into a more rigorous method to reduce the amount of error in the tracking.