Mounting the Motion Tracker

Since the VuePod frames were custom built, the motion tracker needed to have a custom mount as well.  As we pondered how to mount the motion tracker, we kept coming back to the question where do we want to mount the motion tracker.  Here we thought of a few options.

1. Mount the tracker at the bottom, attaching it to the legs of the middle two frames. 
2.  Mount the tracker in the middle, having it come between the middle two frames.  The bezels on the TVs would make it so that no screen space was lost with the tracker in front of the TVs.  This can be seen in Figure 1.
3. Mount the tracker above the TVs.

Figure 1: Motion Tracker Mounted in the Middle

Each of these options had their PRO’s and CON’s.  We decided against putting it at the bottom because of the fear that people might kick, bump, or break the motion tracker.  Since we couldn't decide between the remaining two options, we first decided to mount the motion tracker in the middle.  This configuration seemed to be just fine, it didn’t block the screen, and there was a large range of motion.  The only downside was that it created a gap between the TVs where the steel bracket went through to hold up the mount.

While we had this configuration we were visited by a representative of the company from whom we purchased the motion tracker (ART).  He suggested that to receive full benefit of the cameras in the motion tracker that we mount it above the TVs.  So we decided to mount the tracker above the TVs.

The original configuration of the mount was a simple bracket made with a 2’ long piece of perforated steel angle and a 2’ long piece of perforated steel.  Two pieces were made with 1’ square steel tubing that was used to connect the pieces.  The bracket was a simple tee shape with the stem of the tee being the part that connects to the motion tracker.

This worked great when it was mounted in the middle.  The bracket was simply connected to the frames using U-bolts.  However, mounting it to the top this method would not work because the motion tracker would not be able to be mounted high enough for optimal use.  While looking for a new solution, we noticed that each frame had perforated steel that was being used to angle the top TVs as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Perforated Steel on Each Frame

Two more pieces were made in order to be able to attach the bracket to the frames using 1 ½” bolts.  Figure 3 shows how the bracket was attached to the frames.  

Figure 3: Bracket Attached to Frame

Figure 4: Bracket Completely Attached

Figure 5: View from the Front

Figure 6: Final View

It was important that the motion tracker be tilted down towards the ground.  

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