USER MANUAL
URM18PH392 Rev A. May 2020 Page 13 of 86
1. VIPER™ SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Congratulations on your purchase of VIPER™, the latest generation of Polhemus Tracking Systems. The VIPER™
design has several new innovations. These innovations include FTT® (Fly True Technology) – a new technology
that adds real-time eddy current distortion mitigation, up to four magnetic sources in a single System Electronics
Unit (SEU), and faster update rates as high as 960Hz.
VIPER™ is available in three different models: VIPER™ 4, VIPER™ 8, and VIPER™ 16.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The Polhemus VIPER™ is an electromagnetic tracking system based on a scalable architecture that supports up to
16 Sensors and 4 Sources in a single chassis.
The flexible VIPER™ design offers unprecedented versatility and scalability for the Polhemus motion tracking
user.
HOW VIPER™ MOTION TRACKING WORKS 1.1.1
An electromagnetic (EM) field is emitted from one or more Sources. Sensors detect the emitted field(s) and the
System Electronics Unit (SEU) calculates Position and Orientation (P&O) of each of the Sensors. The P&O data is
streamed from the SEU via USB or RS-422 to a connected host computer.
On a Windows® host PC the VIPER™ Command Manager app (VPcmdMgr) may be used to visualize the motion of
the Sensors. Open-source programming libraries and sample programs are available for developing custom
applications that use the Sensor P&O data on Windows® or other computer operating system platforms.
The VIPER™ system operation is configured and controlled by an open source command interface. VIPER™
commands are applied to the system via the VPcmdMgr or via custom end-user software. The VIPER™ command
set is explained in detail in Section 4. of this user manual. VPcmdMgr users and software developers will find
explanations of the available commands in online help and useful tips and information displayed on the
VPcmdMgr display.
VIPER™ system hardware components are precisely calibrated at the factory using NIST (National Institute of
Standards and Technology) traceable fixturing. Recalibration of the system is never required.
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