SLAM — Inside-out Positional Tracking Solution for VR and AR
Originally published at www.vudream.com on July 24, 2017.
uSens, a pioneer in interactive tracking solutions for immersive augmented, virtual and mixed reality experiences, today announced the development of a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) based mobile inside-out 6DOF positional tracking solution.
Designed from the ground up for mobile devices through advanced machine learning and computer vision techniques, uSens’ lightweight algorithm is faster, more accurate and has lower latency than other mobile tracking solutions.
Following in the footsteps of uSens’ pioneering 26DOF (degrees of freedom) hand tracking technology, uSens SLAM provides developers with another solution to create content that allows users to feel present and immersed in virtual worlds.
uSens is launching a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) based mobile inside-out 6DOF positional tracking solution. Compatible across a range of platforms, the uSens SLAM helps developers create fully immersive content for augmented and virtual reality experiences.
“We carry around a supercomputer in our pocket at all times — our smartphones — and giving developers the tools to enhance the user experience on hardware we all already possess is key to increasing adoption. Apple entering the market with ARKit, joining Samsung and Google, has focused the industry on creating untethered, mobile content. Consumers are excited for the coming wave of AR content and we’re focused on building the core interactive technologies for developers so they can create experiences that feel real and immersive, which is what consumers are demanding.”
– Dr. Yue Fei, CTO and co-founder of uSens.
SLAM is a series of computations and algorithms that constructs a virtual map of an environment, which can then be augmented with useful and value-adding digital content depending on your location within this space.
uSens’ marker-less, inside-out mobile SLAM tracks a user’s location by continuously scanning and ‘learning’ about their environment through camera imaging. This allows a user’s position to be tracked in unknown and changing environments, which is a requirement and a far better user experience on mobile.
Marker-based or outside-in SLAM, utilized by gaming-focused hardware, requires markers or sensors to be placed around a room in order to interact with the ARVR system or Head Mounted Display (HMD) cameras.
This is not possible in wide-scale mobile virtual experiences, as the fixed positions of the markers cannot adapt to changing environments.
“Positional tracking is required to give objects and experiences real meaning in virtual environments. Computing systems can create color, shape, size, etc., but what’s missing in the mix is position. The world is not flat, so as our technology begins to blend the physical and virtual world, it’s increasingly important that it interacts with the world in three dimensions. We’re already in discussions with a number of consumer-level companies to utilize our SLAM technology. Accurately tracking a user’s position will allow the entire industry to take a giant leap forward and our solutions will help bring on the next generation of amazing ARVR content.”
– Dr. Yue Fei, CTO and co-founder of uSens.
Conclusion
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Originally published at www.vudream.com on July 24, 2017.
