Evaluation of the Intel RealSense T265 for tracking natural human head motion

Peter Hausamann,Martin Daumer,Paul R Macneilage,Christian B Sinnott

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91861-5

Peter Hausamann, Martin Daumer + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91861-5

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Abstract

Accurate and robust tracking of natural human head motion in natural environments is important for a number of applications including virtual and augmented reality, clinical diagnostics, as well as basic scientific research. IMU provide a versatile solution for recording inertial data including linear acceleration and angular velocity, but reconstructing head position is difficult or impossible. This problem can be solved by incorporating visual data using a technique known as visual-inertial simultaneous localization and mapping (VI-SLAM). A recently released commercial solution, the Intel RealSense T265, uses a proprietary VI-SLAM algorithm to estimate linear and angular position and velocity, but the performance of this device for tracking of natural human head motion in natural environments has not yet been comprehensively evaluated against gold-standard methods. In this study, we used a wide range of metrics to evaluate the performance of the T265 with different walking speeds in different environments, both indoor and outdoor, against two gold-standard methods, an optical tracking system and a so-called perambulator. Overall, we find that performance of the T265 relative to these gold-standard methods is most accurate for slow to normal walking speeds in small- to medium-sized environments. The suitability of this device for future scientific studies depends on the application; data presented here can be useful in making that determination.

Highlights

Tracking of human head motion is important across several domains
Measurement of natural human head motion in natural environments is important for a range of applications including VR/AR technology, clinical diagnostics, as well as basic scientific investigation of sensorimotor function
If visual-inertial simultaneous localization and mapping (VI-SLAM) devices such as the T265 are going to be used for these applications, their accuracy must be evaluated

Summary

Introduction

Tracking of human head motion is important across several domains. It is important for investigating basic scientific questions about reflexive control of posture, as well as reflexive stabilization of both head and eye movement[1]. Advances in technology allowed robust head tracking to be conducted with optical tracking systems on humans and other m ammals[1,7] This has been referred to as outside-in head tracking because stationary cameras “outside” the participant are used to track the moving head[8]. This method was more versatile, but robust performance was still confined to the laboratory. MEMS IMUs typically consist of a tri-axial accelerometer and gyroscope, and sometimes a magnetometer, all built into a single small device These allow estimating linear acceleration, angular velocity, and direction and strength of the local magnetic field, respectively. This is especially necessary because only a rough description of the T265’s tracking method is provided[14]; no details about the proprietary closed-source VI-SLAM implementation are available

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