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Enter the Lighthouse tracking system. Pioneered by Alan Yates of Valve, this system uses Beacons (a.k.a. Base Station) to emit precisely timed IR pulses (blinks) and X/Y axis IR laser sweeps. Instead of cameras or IR LEDs mounted to the HMD and controllers, Lighthouse embeds an array of IR-filtered photodiodes within all items that require tracking. As the X and Y ‘plane’ of IR laser light sweeps past the various sensors embedded within the controllers and HMD, those diodes’ outputs are amplified and passed onto an internal ASIC, which is programmed with the relative location where each input signal was sourced. Provided there are enough inputs (sensors that have a direct line of sight to one or both Base Stations), the ASIC can then work out its own location and orientation within the room.
