Polhemus Announces SCOUT: World’s Only 6DOF Self Contained Head Tracker

Posted: November 12, 2007

COLCHESTER, VT----Polhemus, the industry leader in 6 Degree-of-Freedom (6DOF) motion capture, motion tracking and digitizing technologies is proud to announce SCOUT (Self-Contained Micro Tracker)  for helmet mounted tracking or other head tracking applications.
 
SCOUT is a revolutionary, highly accurate 6DOF motion tracking system. Because of major advances in the miniaturization of electromagnetic technology, the system completely eliminates the need for any electronics unit. This removes the requirement to plan for tracker electronics space, weight, and the need for complicated inter-component wiring within airframes or high fidelity simulators. Magnetic head sensors currently being used weigh about 35 grams, which is equal to the entire weight of the SCOUT head sensor, cabling and electronics. Because the sensor and computational electronics are self-contained, sensitive wiring to breakaway connections for ejection safety is greatly simplified. 
 
In addition to the miniaturization of the head sensor and electronics, Polhemus is introducing a new Canopy Source which has also been miniaturized to less than 10 grams. Al Rodgers, President and CEO stated "Advancements in active AC magnetic technology not only allowed us to produce a self-contained sensor but also a source with a footprint of only 15 mm which is perfect for direct canopy installation. In addition, we have maintained an update rate of 240 Hz with an overall accuracy of 3 milliradians. This is unprecedented in our industry!"
 
Using the latest technology developed by Polhemus, the Canopy Source greatly simplifies or eliminates the need for calibration. If calibration is required, Polhemus is now able to offer a new installation and calibration procedure that will align and calibrate the entire system in less than one hour. Although the Canopy Source has an extremely small footprint and lightweight characteristics, for those applications where a canopy mounted source is not a consideration, Polhemus offers a slightly larger, more traditional standard source.
 
SCOUT is the only self contained 6DOF motion tracking system in the world and is backed by 35 years of engineering experience. The combination of all these advancements clearly positions SCOUT as the forerunner in electromagnetic tracking technology offering significant improvements over competitive systems. 
 
SCOUT is a prized addition to the variety of motion tracking products available from Polhemus, enabling us to provide the customer with a full line of solutions to meet various tracking requirements and budget limitations. Polhemus provides the absolute best in time proven 3D position and orientation tracking, digitizing, 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.