Provided is a communication apparatus including a determination unit that determines a direction in which the communication apparatus faces, a measurement unit that measures signal strength indicating strength of a radio wave received by the communication apparatus, a notification unit that notifies a user of the signal strength falling below a first threshold, and a display unit that superimposes a direction in which the signal strength exceeds a second threshold, as first display, on second display being displayed. This configuration makes it possible to guide the user to turn in a direction in which high signal strength is received, without hindering UX of the user of the communication apparatus using a high frequency band as much as possible.

Described are targets for use in optical tracking, as well as related methods. A target comprises a plurality of light dispersers, optically coupled to at least one light source. The light dispersers are illuminated for detection and tracking by a tracking system. In some implementations, the at least one light source is optically coupled to the plurality of light dispersers by a plurality of light directors. In other implementations, the at least one light source includes a plurality of light sources positioned within or proximate to the plurality of dispersers. In some implementations, dispersers are lenses; in some implementations, dispersers are light scattering elements. Targets include or are coupled to a power source. In some implementations, targets include additional electrical components which utilize power from the power source.

A method locates a mobile unit in an industrial manufacturing environment. The method includes: A) rough locating of the mobile unit by way of rough position data of a manufacturing execution system (MES); B) moving a sensor unit comprising a sensor to the mobile unit on a basis of the rough position data; C) receiving a coded signal emitted by the mobile unit by way of the sensor and finely locating the mobile unit, wherein the sensor ascertains the position of a first transmitter of the coded signal and provides the first position in the form of signal position data; and D) identifying the mobile unit on a basis of the coded signal and correcting the rough position data on a basis of the signal position data.

A system and method for tracking an object within a surgical field are described. A system may include a mesh of cameras distributed around the surgical field, the mesh of cameras including, for example at least three cameras. Cameras in the mesh of cameras may be in known positions or orientations relative to the surgical field or may be mobile with position or orientation to be determined by the system. The system may include a computing system communicatively coupled to the mesh of cameras, the computing system including a processor and a memory device. The computing system may be used to generate tracking data for a tracked object from images or image data taken by one or more cameras of the mesh of cameras.

A tool pose determination system, comprising a tool, a laser tracker, a data processor, and an IMU. The tool comprises a laser-trackable target and alignment markings distributed such that a tool orientation is derivable based on their pattern. The laser tracker provides tracking data regarding a target position with a first sampling sequence having a first sampling rate. An imaging unit of the laser tracker acquires images with a second sampling sequence having a second sampling rate which is less than the first. The IMU unit provides IMU orientation regarding the tool orientation. The data processor derives image-based orientation based on the imaged pattern of the markings and references the IMU orientation with the image-based orientation. The data processor provides output data timestamped with a third sampling sequence having a third sampling rate which is more than the second.