6 DOF long-range precision tracking system

A novel design of a 6 DOF tracking system intended for large-scale dynamic robot measurement is presented. By integrating data from three-laser tracking systems and an inertial measurement unit, the system provides high frequency, precision position and attitude data. The drifting convergence problem of the inertial measurement method is corrected by using the laser tracking systems. And the integration of laser tracking systems and inertial measurement unit also increase the overall precision of the combined measurement system. Even if the measurements of laser tracker are intermittent and are obtained at a low frequency, the experimental result indicates the method proposed in this paper is able to reach an accuracy of a few hundred micron. Finally, real experiments performed with a parallel robot are presented and analyzed.