Motion tracking system aims to banish video games' lag

Developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research Pittsburgh, Lumitrack is also said to be extremely precise and highly affordable.

The university says the technology is comprised of projectors and sensors. A structured pattern, which resembles a large barcode, is projected over the area to be tracked. Sensor units, either near the projector or on the person or object being tracked, can then quickly and precisely locate movements anywhere in that area.

‘What Lumitrack brings to the table is, first, low latency,’ said Robert Xiao, a Ph.D. student in Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII). ‘Motion tracking has added a compelling dimension to popular game systems, but there’s always a lag between the player’s movements and the movements of the avatar in the game. Lumitrack is substantially faster than these consumer systems, with near real-time response.’

In a statement, Xiao said Lumitrack is also extremely precise, with sub-millimetre accuracy. Moreover, this performance is achieved at low cost. The sensors require little power and would be inexpensive to assemble in volume. The components could even be integrated into mobile devices, including smartphones.