HOME          PRODUCTS          SERVICES          ABOUT US          NEWS UK - inition.co.ukAPAC - inition.com.auUSA - inition.comEU - inition.eu
Products  Motion Capture / Tracking  Magnetic  Guide
Magnetic
Click here to view our guides index

3 coils in a Receiver produce signals in an Electromagetic field generated by a Transmitter, showing position and orientation

Elements

Transmitter Broadcasts EM field from 3 orthogonal coils energized sequentially every measurement cycle 
Receiver (Sensor)
 3 orthogonal sensors, EM fields produce signals in these
Computer/Software
 Takes these 9+ signal measurements each cycle and calculates the 6 position and orientation numbers
 
Example Magnetic System: Polhemus Liberty


Pros and Cons of Magnetic Systems

 
Pros   Cons
6dof natively   Electromagnet field may be a disadvantage
Very mature technology – widespread   Accuracy affected by metal objects
Wide range of options   Sensors and wires may be bulky (1” cube and wire)
Line of sight not required   Some latency
Usually more affordable than optical      

Magnetic systems currently on the market: (follow links for more info)
Ascension Flock of Birds


Magnetic 6 DOF tracker up to 4 sensors.


Ascension MotionStar Wired


6 DOF trackers up to 90 sensors.


Ascension MotionStar Wireless 2


6 DOF wireless tracker up to 20 sensors.


Polhemus Fastrak


Widely used 6 DOF magnetic tracker up to 4 sensors.


Polhemus Long Ranger


Extends range of FASTRAK, integral part of STAR*TRAK.


Polhemus Patriot


Cost effective solution for 6 DOF tracking and 3D digitizing.


Polhemus Liberty


6 DOF magnetic tracking of up to 16 sensors.


Ascension 3D Navigator


Wireless tracker for navigating through immersive environments.


Inition 3DiStick


6DOF controller, requires Fastrak or Flock of Birds.

The Ascension Flock of Birds offers inexpensive and accurate small area 6 dof tracking. The Polhemus Fastrak is a similar unit and offers stylus and ball options for digitising and manipulation.

Ascension Minibird is a small EM sensor useful for medical applications.

The Polhemus Patriot is a brand new system that is cheap and flexible. It can be used as a dual sensor motion tracker or a 3D digitiser in a compact package.

The Polhemus Liberty is a professional and scalable unit which can handle up to 16 sensors.

The Ascension MotionStar and MotionStar Wireless were designed for human motion capture and are good examples of products that have stood the test of time.

The Ascension AnimationStar uses Ascension Human capture know-how in an easily affordable turnkey soution for small studios.

If you have any questions about magnetic systems then please call +44 (0)20 7613 5004 or email inition@inition.co.uk. We have a wide range available to view in our central London demo suite. Please contact us to arrange an appointment.

London: 79 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4QS, UK - Tel +44 (0)20 7613 5004 - Fax +44 (0)845 345 2737 - inition@inition.co.uk

 

 Melbourne: 104 Maribyrnong Street, Footscray, 3011, Victoria, Australia - Tel +61 (0)3 9687 8638 - inition@inition.com.au