Polhemus Announces PATRIOT™ Class B: A Dual Sensor, 6 Degree-of-Freedom Tracking Product

Posted: November 18, 2005

COLCHESTER, VT, (November 18, 2005)----Polhemus, the industry leader in 6 Degree-Of-Freedom (6DOF) motion capture, motion tracking and digitizing technologies, is proud to announce that PATRIOT, a 6DOF tracking product, has been verified to meet the requirements of Class B digital device standards. Class A and Class B are classifications that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the European Union (CE) apply to electronic equipment with respect to the amount of unintentional radiated fields (RF) energy that the equipment emits. 

The PATRIOT is now available in both Class A and Class B emissions standards. The new Class B version of the PATRIOT meets the more stringent emissions requirements specified by the FCC and CE standards. The Class B PATRIOT also has a new look and is easily identified by the white plastic chassis. PATRIOT B can now be used in more rigorous residential and industrial laboratory environments. 

PATRIOT tracks objects through the liberal use of advanced DSPs that also provide cleaner signals and higher stability. The Class B two-sensor channel base system is available at an affordable price, making PATRIOT by far the most affordable, simplest to use 6DOF tracker on the market today. PATRIOT comes standard with both a serial I/O RS-232 and a high speed USB interface, at no extra cost. 

PATRIOT takes advantage of new technology and state of the art Digital Signal Processor (DSP) electronics. PATRIOT has the speed of 60 Hz per sensor, ease of use via an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI), and improved signal-to-noise ratios which increase stability and resolution while providing consistent high quality data. In addition, the size of the electronics unit is only 6.75 inches L x 6.24 inches W x 1.75 inches H. The combination of all these attributes clearly positions PATRIOT as the forerunner in its class of electromagnetic tracking technology, offering significant improvements over competitive systems. 

The PATRIOT comes standard with Windows 2000/XP GUI and a comprehensive, easy to use Software Developers Kit (SDK). The GUI allows four independent user-definable profiles for setting system parameters such as filtering, output formats, coordinate rotations and many more. This is a valuable feature for multiple applications or users. For visualization, an integrated motion box provides navigable points of view and can include text data. Additional features include a data record/playback component, plus the capability to quickly export data via Microsoft® "Named Pipe". 

PATRIOT has a range of five feet, resolution of 0.0015 in. and 0.01 degree and a static accuracy of 0.1 in. RMS for the X, Y and Z position and 0.75 degrees RMS of orientation. Latency is less than 10 milliseconds for both sensors simultaneously. 

Polhemus provides the absolute best in time proven 6DOF systems, eye tracking, and handheld 3D scanners. These products already are in wide use in such areas as medical applications, university research, military training and simulation, and computer aided design. 

Contact sales@polhemus.com for more information.