NASA SBIR 00-1 SOLICITATION

FORM 9B - PROJECT SUMMARY

PROPOSAL NUMBER 00-1 10.02-8343 (Chron: 001658 )
PROJECT TITLE
Precision Human Body Tracking in 3-D

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Visidyne proposes to demonstrate innovative technologies to locate points on a human body with sub-mm precision and a low latency. Small (potentially << 1 cm3), battery-powered laser transmitter tags are attached to the subject at various points-of-interest (head, elbow, wrist, knee, etc.). Pulses from the tags are detected by a fixed constellation of receivers at known locations. The receiver signals are then processed using proprietary Visidyne phase measurement technology to solve for the position in 3-D space of each tag. Conceptually the design resembles the Global Positioning System (GPS) in that it uses trilateration to determine locations within a given volume. As with GPS, the design is highly scaleable with the low incremental cost per measured point. The proposed technology builds on previous activities at Visidyne for tracking the orientation of a helmet in an aircraft cockpit for cueing of sensors and weapons.

POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
Tracking human body position and movement has widespread applications including motion capture for the motion picture industry, computer operator interfaces, control of robotic devices, virtual reality systems, and head tracking in the cockpit of military aircraft to name a few. The technology can also be applied to general purpose metrology problems tracking non-human targets. Precision high-speed volumetric metrology has long been sought for such applications as robotic bin picking and non-contact position sensors for robotic end effectors. Potential medical applications include precision surgery and monitoring exoskeleton motions during recuperation.

NAME AND ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (Name, Organization Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)
John J. Atkinson
Visidyne, Inc.
10 Corporate Place, South Bedford St.
Burlington , MA 01803 - 5168

NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)
Visidyne, Inc
10 Corporate Place, South Bedford St.
Burlington , MA 01803 - 5168