Navigation Sensors that Open the Way to Intuitive Multifunctional Systems
The 6-axis Navigator – A Virtual Stroll
Here we look at an advance that’s just around the corner. It enables
3D map displays and other new functions, by the addition of a 3-axis acceleration
sensor to the currently-available 3-axis geomagnetic sensor for cellphones and
other handhelds.
It’s a key step toward a world of ubiquitous computing, with handheld devices
containing an array of sensors and systems for intuitive real-time acquisition,
display, and utilization of data and information.
The possibilities are endless. Let’s take a look at this one, in a virtual
stroll through the near future with a cellphone showing real-time 2D and 3D maps
– for easy, intuitive, interactive navigation.
In a cellphone equipped with a 6-axis navigator, the 3-axis acceleration sensor enables determination of the cellphone’s geomagnetic direction despite a tilting of the cellphone – whether up, down, right, or left – as well as the angle of tilting.
When combined with a GPS locator and real-time 3D imaging data, the 6-axis
navigator will therefore open up a new world of handheld navigation. It will enable
not only an oriented flat-map display showing the position, but also a 3D image
of the surroundings that follows the movement of the cellphone – whether
up and down for a scan of a building from top to bottom or left and right for
a 360-degree scan of the street scene – all in real time. Switching between
2D and 3D will also be simple and seamless – simply by moving the cellphone
between the horizontal and upright positions. The result: simple, intuitive, interactive
navigation, with multimode real-time visual confirmation.
This will be followed by further advances – including the capability to
image the building interior and visually guide the viewer to a specific part of
the building, such as the entrance to a tenth-floor restaurant.
At Asahi Kasei EMD, we are working on the development of these and other sensing
solutions, to enable real-world navigation through its virtual imaging and mapping,
in real time, on cellphones and other handheld displays.
The 6-axis Attitude Controller – A Virtual Session
The 6-axis navigator opens up a whole new world of possibilities. One of these is the 6-axis attitude controller – give it a quick simulated try-out, in this brief virtual session.
Accurate, real-time determination of the handheld location and attitude, based
on the 6-axis navigator, will enable the control of on-screen games, helicopters
and other radio-controlled models, hazardous-area search vehicles, and other virtual
and real-world objects. Animation aficionados will be able to will be able to
pilot virtual “power-assist” robots.
These and other interfaces will become part of everyday life, work, and leisure
– a dream world brought to reality.
The possibilities are endless – and they’re just around the corner.
