Saccade Mirror 3: High-speed gaze controller with ultra wide gaze control range using triple rotational mirrors

This paper reports the prototype of a new optical high-speed gaze controller, named Saccade Mirror 3, that overcomes the limited gaze control range (∼60 deg) of our previously proposed high-speed gaze controller, called Saccade Mirror. Saccade Mirror 3 is based on three automated rotational mirrors, and this gaze control mechanism can achieve an ultrawide gaze control range of 360 deg in theory. A prototype was developed based on this mechanism. A gaze control range of over 260 degrees in the pan direction and a high-speed response of about 10 ms were confirmed. Furthermore, the prototype was applied to high-speed visual tracking coupled with a 1000 fps high-speed vision system. A visual tracking algorithm was developed for this mechanism, and high-speed tracking of a table tennis ball in play and a flying drone was successfully demonstrated.