RUCAP

A head tracking system produced in Russia, styled RUCAP, represents a solution interesting in more than a single way. It consists of two components one of which is attached to the monitor, while the other is worn on the head by the user. The component on the monitor excites the component on the user's head by sending an IR signal, which then responds with an ultra- sound signal, based on the time of arrival of which to the component attached to the monitor coordinates needed by the client- software are derived. Regarding the precision of tracking of the user's head, the error remains within a single millimeter. Sensor's field of view is sixty degrees and, along with coordinate refreshing frequency of 160 times per second, remains unparalleled. If the unlikely possibility that the ultra- sound signal has a frequency similar to the frequency necessary for driving away mosquitoes is considered, which is not specified in the documentation, RUCAP appears to set new standards in head tracking. On the other hand, it's stated on the producer's website that this device provides only five degrees of freedom of tracking the user's head movements and, to the interested reader, a glance at figure 2 will reveal that the rotation around the z- axis is lacking, that is, around the line that sticks out the user's nose and remains parallel to the floor when the user sits straight. Since rotating the head towards the left or the right shoulder isn't a movement which is frequently found vital while simulating flight, this doesn't look like a big drawback.