Comparison of Pixel-based Position Input and Direct Acceleration Input for Virtual Stick Balancing Tests

Abstract

A virtual stick balancing environment is developed using a computer mouse as input device. The development process is presented both on the hardware and software level. Two possible concepts are suggested to obtain the acceleration of the input device: discrete differentiation of the cursor position measured in pixels on the screen and by direct measurements via an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The comparison of the inputs is carried out with test measurements using a crank mechanism. The measured signals are compared to the prescribed motion of the mechanism and it is shown that the IMU-based input signal fits better to the prescribed motion than the pixel-based input signal. The pixel-based input can also be applied after additional filtering, but this presents an extra computational delay in the feedback loop.