FAQ
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YES!
Go to our store.
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The AMFITRACK™ system consists of an EMF source (transmitter) and one or more wireless EMF sensors (receivers). The sensors measure the electromagnetic field generated by the source, and calculates its position and orientation relative to the EMF source, which is then transmitted wirelessly or by USB.
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Electromagnetic tracking does not have line-of-sight occlusion, direct sun-light, darkness, white background and dirt on lenses, etc. issues like camera solutions has.
Further, electromagnetic tracking technology does not have drift issues over time like IMU-based tracking system has.
Only downside of using electromagnetic tracking is that metal (both ferro and non-ferro metal) in the close proximity of either sensor or source will somewhat interfere and lower the accuracy performance.
AMFITRACK™ has several workarounds to lower this impact. Contact us for more info.
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Yes!
Please find the manual in our download center or find the online version here
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YES!
Amfitech, the company behind AMFITRACK™, offers engineering service to customize PCB sizes, functionality, cost optimization etc. on consultancy basis and/or a license fee.
Please contact us to further discuss the different options we offer.
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Yes!
We offer several support software like SDK's (C, C#, C++ and Phyton), Windows App (3D viewer and config tool) and demo projects for Unity, Unreal, etc. Get the latest versions for free on our Download Center
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Please see examples of precision over distance graphs (both for position and orientation) in our brochure. Advanced IMU/EMF sensor fusion algos can be activated to get even better precision performance.
Note: Precision can be optimized by fine-tuning sample rate, power in source, size of source coil and sensor coil sensitivity.
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See complete LED-guide for both Source, Sensor and Hub in our online manual
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YES!
By using our free AMFITRACK™ Viewer (Microsoft Windows application) several parameters can be configured (free download here). Update/sample rate can be configured from 25Hz to 250Hz per sensor.
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AMFITRACK™ is based on Electro-Magnetic Field tracking. By the nature of the technology – and the physics it is based on – metal present in the field of operation will more or less influence the performance and accuracy of the system.
Some rules-of-thumb:
• Metal in the line-of-sight between source and sensor is more critical than behind source or sensor
• Big metal object in close proximity (<50mm) of source and/or sensor is critical
Some ways of minimizing issues with the metal interference:
• The system know when metal is around due to unexpected skew of the B-fields and can warn the user about this (Field Quality Index)
• If the metal is static in the field of operation – the interference can be calibrated out
• Amfitech is working on other methods to avoid/limit dynamic metal interference
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YES!
By lower the sample rate/update rate and/or activated the EMF/IMU sensor fusion feature.
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No!
The coil of the sensor (RX3) is very sensitive, and therefore no pressure or any kind of material can touch it, as it can change the factory calibration. Which leads to decline in tracking performance.
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Can be optimized for specific application. For our standard configuration in the dev kit power consumptions is a below:
Source:
600mA in all 3 coils, RF active: 450mA @ 5V USB ~ 2.4 W
Sensor:
Powered off: 2.0µA @ 3.9V Bat ~ 7.8µW
Powered on, tracking (LED on): 90mA @ 3.9V Bat ~ 0.35 W
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None. We have not seen or heard of any research papers/documents stating, that low frequency B-fields should be of any serious concern to human health.
To enlighten if there may be a risk, below we have simply tried to compare the B-field exposure from the TX3 source with two everyday products. Although very different in function, they are quite common in the sense of using coils for radiating B-fields at approx. the same frequencies used in demo kit.
Example 1:
An induction stove is able to transfer 1600W at 24kHz to a cooking vessel. The TX3 3D source is only able to produce a fraction of this power level at approx. the same frequency. We have never heard of people been injured by their inductive stoves.
Example 2:
An Apple airpod amplifier has an output resistance of approx. 1 ohm. Headphone amplifier is powered by a 3.7V battery. A typical in-ear headphone has a DC resistance of 32 ohm. We don’t know the precise distance between the voice coil and human head, when placed in the ear. Let’s say it’s approx. 5 mm. This current level is compatible with the current level used in the demo kit, which is 600mA. We have never heard of humans injured by the B-field exposure level caused by Apple Airpods.
These calculations are not scientific, as more factors like turns ratio etc. are involved in exact calculations.
But, although simplified, they give us a hint. Exposure level from the demo kit is not worse than B-field exposure from everyday products.
Health effects from Intermediate Frequency (IF) EMF:
There are few new studies on health effects from IF exposures in general, and no epidemiological studies have been conducted in particular. Some in vivo studies report on the absence of effects on reproduction and development of IF fields up to 0.2 mT in a frequency range of 20-60 kHz.
As in the previous SCENIHR Opinion, there are still too few studies available, and furthermore no epidemiological studies have been conducted. In view of the expected increase of occupational exposure to IF, studies on biomarkers and health outcomes in workers are recommended. This could be supplemented with experimental studies.
Source:
https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/docs/scenihr_o_041.pdf
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YES!
The Source as hub functionality is disabled as default, since the system only support either the hub, source or sensor to act as the system hub, and be default for the development kit we have chosen the hub since that’s what most people tend to use.
It is simple to re-configure the source to act as the system hub using the AMFITRACK™ Viewer software:
Connect the source to the PC USB, start the AMFITRACK™ Viewer software, click the source on the left-hand side in the grey configuration window. You should see the source configurations on the right-hand side of the window.
Make sure that “Config mode” is set to the value either 1 or 2.
Note: The source reboots if you change these settings so wait a few seconds after a change of this setting.
Go to the “RF config” pane and set the “RF hub” parameter to “true” by writing “true” or “1” in the setting field and press save or enter. After the source reboots, it is acting as the system hub.
Note: Remember to disconnect the system dedicated hub device if the source is configured to act as the system hub.
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Measured from sensor movement to USB data ready:
< 27ms @60Hz update rate
< 15ms @120Hz update rate
< 10ms @240Hz update rate
Measured from sensor movement to Windows SDK data ready:
< 22ms @120Hz update rate
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Approx. 12nT @1meter
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