The integration of optical and magnetic tracking for multi-user augmented reality

Multi-user augmented reality requires excellent registration for all users, which cannot be achieved by magnetic trackers alone. This paper presents a new approach combining magnetic and optical tracking. The magnetic tracker is used to coarsely predict the positions of landmarks in the camera image. This restricts the search area to a size which can be managed close to real-time. This new hybrid tracking system outperforms a calibrated magnetic tracker in terms of position, orientation, and jitter.