I’d like to share a simple idea for a marker-less scanner that could sit next to TrackIt in your line-up.
Core concept
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9-DoF IMU on board (gyro, accel, mag).
- Fuse the raw data with well-known filters such as Madgwick, Mahony or an Extended/Unscented Kalman Filter to get a smooth, drift-limited orientation and short-term translation.
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UWB position correction – a single DW3000 inside the scanner ranges against 4–5 small anchors in the room.
- Absolute XYZ fixes from the UWB periodically reset the IMU drift.
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The fused pose data (IMU ✚ UWB) is written into every camera trigger, so each frame is already roughly aligned in 6-DoF before any point-cloud processing starts.
- Final frame-to-frame refinement (ICP, pose-graph, etc.) then works on small residuals, improving overall accuracy.
Why it matters
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No external marker set-up, no line-of-sight to a tracking camera.
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Works in tight or cluttered spaces.
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Faster workflow: drop the anchors, scan, done.
Examples Project:
Ultra Inertial Poser: Scalable Motion Capture and Tracking from Sparse Inertial Sensors and Ultra-Wideband Ranging · Sensing, Perception & Interaction Lab (only 6 DoF IMU and only DW1000 Version, the DW3000 is much better)
Example Video:
I can’t guarantee it will outperform optical tracking, but the idea looks promising enough to justify a quick prototype. Happy to discuss details or build a proof-of-concept together.