Electromagnetic Tracking

Electromagnetic tracking is a position and orientation sensing technology that uses electromagnetic fields to determine the location and rotation of a sensor in three-dimensional space. Systems like the Polhemus tracker generate a low-frequency magnetic field from a stationary transmitter and measure it at a small receiver sensor, calculating six degrees of freedom (three positional, three rotational). In assistive technology, electromagnetic tracking has been used for head pointing devices, hand gesture recognition, and spatial input systems, providing precise real-time tracking without requiring line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver.