Stabilization Method for a Hip-mounted Projector Using an Inertial Sensor

Existent mobile terminal devices such as cell phones restrict the use of one hand and demand that the user keep a close watch on the small display when walking and running. Nevertheless, such usage increases the risk of collision with other pedestrians. Furthermore, such devices are difficult to indicate the information considering embodiment. For example, almost these devices are designed for a motionless situation. Such devices are not designed for use in walking and running situation. Therefore, we propose a mobile projector that is mounted on the user’s hips to solve the above problems. By measuring the motion of the hipmounted projector when the user walks, we find that the pitch angle of the projector affects the images projected on the floor more than the other angles. As a result, we propose a gyroscopic stabilization method that compensates for the pitch angle. Furthermore, we implement and confirm the efficacy of the proposed stabilization method. Result shows that the proposed stabilization method can keep a projected image in the user’s field of view.