Position estimation with a low-cost inertial measurement unit

In this paper the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) included inside the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is considered for head position tracking. While the Oculus is capable of mapping rotational movement to a virtual scene, recovering translational movement is not possible by default. In this study, we extract position data using a different approach for real-time position tracking with double integration, as well as a new method for gravity compensation for accelerometers with different axis calibrations. The proposed tracking system is portable, simple and does not require a controlled environment.