Method and system of determining position and orientation of a helmet

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and a tracking system for determining position and orientation of a helmet while moving on a vehicle, wherein inertial data of the helmet is measured, by an inertial measurement system of the helmet, during movement of the helmet, wherein inertial data of the vehicle is measured, by an inertial measurement system of the vehicle, during movement of the vehicle, and wherein the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle is determined by a processing system, using the inertial data of the helmet and the inertial data of the vehicle.

1 . A method of determining position and orientation of a helmet while moving on a vehicle, the method comprising:
 measuring, by an inertial measurement system of the helmet, inertial data of the helmet during movement of the helmet;   measuring, by an inertial measurement system of the vehicle, inertial data of the vehicle during movement of the vehicle; and   determining, by a processing system, the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, using the inertial data of the helmet and the inertial data of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 capturing, by a camera arranged at the helmet, at least one digital image of the vehicle, and/or capturing, by a camera arranged at the vehicle, at least one digital image of the helmet; and   determining, by the processing system, the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, further using the digital image(s) of the vehicle and/or of the helmet.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the at least one captured digital image captured by the camera arranged at the helmet comprise at least one specific feature of the vehicle and/or wherein the at least one captured digital image of the camera arranged at the vehicle comprise at least one specific feature of the helmet, and wherein the processing system determines the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, further using the digital image(s) comprising the at least one specific feature of the vehicle and/or of the helmet. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , further comprising the processing system determining an alternative feature to the specific feature of the vehicle and/or of the helmet, by performing the following steps:
 capturing, using the camera arranged at the helmet or the vehicle, digital images which comprise the at least one specific feature and additional features of the vehicle and/or of the helmet;   determining, by the processing system the alternative feature from the images;   using the alternative feature as the specific feature for determining the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 measuring, by a global positioning system of the vehicle and/or of the helmet, global position data of the vehicle and/or the helmet with respect to a world reference system; and   determining, by the processing system, the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle and/or with respect to the world reference system, further using the measured global position data of the vehicle and/or the helmet.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein an initial position of the helmet is determined by:
 capturing, by the camera arranged at the helmet, at least one digital image of the vehicle, and/or capturing, by the camera arranged at the vehicle, at least one digital image of the helmet; and   determining, by the processing system, the initial position of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, using the digital image(s) of the vehicle and/or of the helmet.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determination of the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle and/or with respect to the world reference system is performed by the processing system using an estimator based data integration. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processing system, a display-position of data to be displayed on an augmented reality display which is arranged at the helmet, using the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle and/or with respect to the world reference system; and   displaying, by the processing system, the data to a wearer of the helmet on the augmented reality display, using the display-position.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 determining, by an eye tracking system arranged at the helmet, a gaze vector of at least one eye, preferably of both eyes, of the wearer of the helmet; and   determining, by the processing system, the position of the displayed data and/or the data type in the augmented reality display observed by the wearer, using the determined gaze vector.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the processing system comprises a processing system of the helmet, a processing system of the vehicle and/or a processing system of a remote server. 
     
     
         11 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer program code configured to control a processing system of a tracking system such that the tracking system performs the method steps:
 measuring, by an inertial measurement system of the helmet, inertial data of the helmet during movement of the helmet;   measuring, by an inertial measurement system of the vehicle, inertial data of the vehicle during movement of the vehicle; and   determining, by a processing system, the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, using the inertial data of the helmet and the inertial data of the vehicle.   
     
     
         12 . A tracking system for determining position and orientation of a helmet while moving on a vehicle, the tracking system comprising an inertial measurement system arranged at the helmet, an inertial measurement system arranged on the vehicle, and a processing system configured to perform the following steps:
 measure inertial data of the helmet during movement of the helmet, using the inertial measurement system of the helmet;   measure inertial data of the vehicle during movement of the vehicle, using the inertial measurement system of the vehicle; and   determine the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, using the inertial data of the helmet and the inertial data of the vehicle.   
     
     
         13 . The tracking system of  claim 12 , wherein the tracking system further comprises a camera arranged at the helmet and/or a camera arranged at the vehicle, and the processing system is further configured to:
 capture at least one digital image of the vehicle, using the camera arranged at the helmet and/or at least one digital image of the helmet, using the camera arranged at the vehicle; and   determine the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle further using the digital image(s) of the vehicle and/or of the helmet.   
     
     
         14 . The tracking system of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one captured digital image captured by the camera arranged at the helmet comprises at least one specific feature of the vehicle and/or wherein the at least one captured digital image of the camera arranged at the vehicle comprises at least one specific feature of the helmet, and wherein the processing system is configured to determine the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle, further using the digital image(s) comprising the at least one specific feature of the vehicle and/or of the helmet. 
     
     
         15 . The tracking system according to  claim 12 , wherein the tracking system further comprises a global positioning system, and the processing system is further configured to:
 measure, using the global positioning system, global position data of the vehicle and/or the helmet with respect to a world reference system; and   determine the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle and/or with respect to the world reference system, further using the measured global position data of the vehicle and/or the helmet.   
     
     
         16 . The tracking system of  claim 12 , wherein the processing system is configured to use an estimator based data integration for determining the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle and/or with respect to the world reference system. 
     
     
         17 . The tracking system of  claim 12 , wherein the tracking system further comprises an augmented reality display which is arranged at the helmet, and the processing system is further configured to:
 determine a display-position of data to be displayed in the augmented reality display, using the position and orientation of the helmet with respect to the vehicle and/or with respect to the world reference system; and   display, on the augmented reality display, the data to a wearer of the helmet, using the display-position.   
     
     
         18 . The tracking system of  claim 17 , wherein the tracking system further comprises an eye tracking system arranged at the helmet, and the processing system is further configured to:
 determine, using the eye tracking system, a gaze vector of at least one eye, preferably of both eyes, of the wearer of the helmet; and   determine the position of the displayed data and/or the data type in the augmented reality display observed by the wearer, using the determined gaze vector.