Development of a sensor for detecting the position of objects in space in virtual reality applicationsDevelopment of a sensor for detecting the position of objects in space in virtual reality applications Διπλωματική Εργασία Diploma Work 2016-10-192016enVirtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) systems have entered our lives. During the past decade they were used only for research purposes, or in simulation environments, but nowadays enterprises invest in mass production of VRs for home entertainment as well. In Virtual Reality, a computer reproduces an alternative environment and places the user in this simulated immersive world, giving her/him the experience of a different reality. The feeling of physical presence in the simulated world is created artificially through vision, touching and hearing. In Virtual Reality, the position and orientation of tracked objects are measured by a complementary sensing system that is solely responsible for positional tracking. The necessity of positional tracking is a major drawback for VR systems, because it requires the employment of dedicated sensing infrastructure, rendering these systems expensive. In this thesis, a low-cost, portable sensing system for positional tracking was developed, by using an accessory of the commercially-available console Wii, called Wiimote (or Wii-remote), that is manufactured by Nintendo. This device contains a 3-axis accelerometer and a high-resolution high-speed infrared (IR) camera and utilizes a Bluetooth interface for connecting with other devices. Two Wiimotes and IR LEDs were used to provide the necessary means for calculating the position of the user. The two Wiimote cameras are installed in static, known locations and an IR-LED bulb is mounted atop of the user. A software application was also developed, which is capable of providing real-time coordinates of the user to the actual VR system with adequate accuracy. The position tracking system that was developed is affordable for home users, since it is easy to deploy and inexpensive.Διπλωματική που υποβλήθηκε στη σχολή ΗΜΜΥ του πολ. Κρήτης για την πλήρωση προυποθέσεων λήψης του διπλώματοςhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Πολυτεχνείο Κρήτης::Σχολή Ηλεκτρολόγων Μηχανικών και Μηχανικών ΥπολογιστώνTryfonas_Konstantinos-Georgios_Dip_2016.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2016-10-19application/pdf3.0 MBfree Tryfonas Konstantinos-Georgios Τρυφωνας Κωνσταντινος-Γεωργιος Koutroulis Eftychios Κουτρουλης Ευτυχιος Mania Aikaterini Μανια Αικατερινη Dollas Apostolos Δολλας Αποστολος Πολυτεχνείο Κρήτης Technical University of Crete Positioning