Smartnav 3.30.039

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junkatagirinp
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:46 am
Location: California

Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by junkatagirinp »

I would like to post this quick and positive response of mine to the latest Smartnav 3.30.039 Beta 1 driver.

It seems to have improved the pointer accuracy by quite a bit. The update has definitely reduced the need for resetting the cursor. Whatever the changes were, they worked out great.
NaturalPoint - Mike
Posts: 1896
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:41 am
Location: Corvallis, OR

Re: Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by NaturalPoint - Mike »

Great! Glad to hear it! It looks like some of the changes for this version really cleared up some issues a few people were having.
Franck Dernoncourt
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Re: Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by Franck Dernoncourt »

This is good news! Out of curiosity, how do you measure pointer accuracy?
NaturalPoint - Mike
Posts: 1896
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:41 am
Location: Corvallis, OR

Re: Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by NaturalPoint - Mike »

Which accuracy number?
Franck Dernoncourt
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Re: Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by Franck Dernoncourt »

When I present SmartNAV to people, a common question is whether SmartNAV is as accurate as a traditional computer mouse. Beyond the empirical feeling, is there any way to measure the pointer accuracy?
junkatagirinp
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:46 am
Location: California

Re: Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by junkatagirinp »

Updating the driver to 3.30.039 seems to have completely removed the need to use the "Center" behavior. I�m used to running the SmartNav with its Positioning parameter set to �Absolute�. Prior to this recent update, I had had to center the pointer once every 5 to 10 minutes. I noticed a gradual shifting of the pointer's home position over prolonged use. Even in Absolute mode, this continued to happen regularly, and I was doing everything I could to stabilize my upper body, making sure that the dot on my forehead stays at the neutral position. Still, I could not keep the pointer from shifting away from its home position. Eventually, over the course of 2 years, I became used to it, and the use of Center hotkey became a subconscious routine. I came to think that the gradual shifting of the pointer must be a normal behavior.

Since the latest 3.30.039 driver update, to my surprise, I did not have to hit the Center hotkey anymore. In my previous post, my use of the word, �accuracy� may have mislead some people. I think I was talking more about stability or consistency of SmartNav�s performance over time.

The �accuracy� of SmartNav�s tracking ability has been astounding to me since the day I first plugged it in. Before purchasing one, I, too, was hung up on the advertised 1280 x 480 pixel camera resolution, which sounded a little low even for my average size monitor with max resolution of 1920 x 1080. I was thinking, "so, this mouse is going to skip pixels on the screen?" I had to do some research before I decided to give it a try - until I read the following post, which touched the insight of SmartNav�s sub-pixel level computation. It was convincingly enough.

http://forum.naturalpoint.com/forum/ubb ... umber=2660
NaturalPoint - Mike
Posts: 1896
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:41 am
Location: Corvallis, OR

Re: Smartnav 3.30.039

Post by NaturalPoint - Mike »

I don't have a measured accuracy or precision number handy, as it will ultimately depend on a number of factors such as your speed settings and your distance from the monitor. Junkatagiri is right on the money with that post, though. The 1280x480 resolution is augmented by the fact that the camera can report the center of mass of the dot in numbers much smaller than "1 pixel".

Ultimately, the best judge of the system's accuracy will be the end user.
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