Patent Document ID: 9082319
Application ID: 12223230
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A system for determining a spatial position of a tool manipulated within a workspace by a human, comprising: a tracking device designed and configured for tracking at least a portion of the tool during manipulation of the tool by the human within the workspace to perform a task, the tracking device including: a working end comprising the tool, wherein the working end is grasped and moved by the human during the manipulation and the tracking; a reference end spaced from the working end; a plurality of links connecting the working end to the reference end, wherein each link has at least one degree of freedom relative to an adjacent link, wherein the plurality of links are joined to one another with movable joints to form at least one link set between the reference end and the working end, the link set designed and configured to allow the plurality of links to move relative to one another as the human grasps and moves the working end during use of the tool to perform the task; a plurality of sensors measuring the orientation of the links in a plurality of degrees of freedom as the human grasps and moves the working end during use of the tool to perform the task, wherein X is a minimum number of degrees of freedom about which information is required to define the spatial position; and a processor receiving information from the sensors and determining the spatial position of the working end of the tracking device relative to the reference end of the tracking device based on information from the sensors measuring Y degrees of freedom, wherein Y is greater than X.