Pursuit Sensing: Extending Hand Tracking Space in Mobile VR Applications

Field of view limitations are one of the major persisting setbacks for camera-based motion tracking systems and the need for flexible ways to improve capture volumes remains. We present Pursuit Sensing, a technique to considerably extend the tracking volume of a camera sensor through self-actuated reorientation using a customized gimbal, thus enabling a Leap Motion to dynamically follow the user’s hand position in mobile HMD scenarios. This technique provides accessibility and high hardware compatibility for both users and developers while remaining simple and inexpensive to implement. Our technical evaluation shows that the proposed solution successfully increases hand tracking volume by 142% in pitch and 44% in yaw compared to the camera’s base FOV, while featuring low latency and robustness against fast hand movements.