The Simulations and Experiments of the Electromagnetic Tracking System Based on Magnetic Dipole Model

Electromagnetic tracking devices, which determine the location and orientation of objects, are widely used in bio-medicine, virtual reality, and so on. Based on the magnetic dipole model, a three-dimensional electromagnetic tracking system is discussed in the paper. The experimental system is composed of emitting coils, receiving coil, and a data acquisition instrument. The theoretical deviations are analyzed through formula derivation and model simulations, which is about magnetic induction intensity and induced electromotive force. The digital lock-in technique is utilized to pick up the weak signal of induced electromotive force of the receiving coil from the environmental noise. The Gauss-Newton and Genetic algorithms are taken to solve the nonlinear equations for the position and orientation of the receiving coil. The experiments show that the discussed system is feasible and effective.