Real-time hand and head tracking for virtual environments using infrared beacons

In this paper, we introduce an optical tracking system for the use with virtual environments which is able to track the hand and the head of a user simultaneously and in real time. The system utilises infrared beacons instead of visible light, because of the special lighting conditions which must be met to employ the system together with a projection table. The working principle of a simple and fast three-step calibration process is described. The characteristics of the tracking system are described with regard to the hardware configuration needed, the software we developed, and the interface to virtual reality applications