Head tracker for dismounted users

1. A head-tracking device capable of being carried by a dismounted user, comprising:

at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU) configured to be associated with a head of the dismounted user and to provide inertial georeferenced head tracker (IGHT) data indicative of a head pose of the user, the IMU having a time-cumulative drift error;

a data link transceiver configured to be associated with the head and comprising:

a GPS receiver;

an electronically steerable antenna (ESA) array including at least a first ESA element associated with one or more of a first angle and a first direction and a second ESA element associated with one or more of a second angle and a second direction, the first ESA element and the second ESA element configured to receive at least one inbound signal transmitted by a remote transmitter configured to be positioned at a distance from the head;

and

at least one processor configured to:

access the IGHT data;

compare a current drift error of the IMU with a predetermined drift error threshold;

in response to the current drift error deceeding the drift error threshold, transmit via the ESA array at least one outbound signal indicative of the IGHT data being a current georeferenced head pose of the user;

determine an angle of arrival (AoA) of the inbound signal received by the first ESA element and the second ESA element;

determine, based on the AoA, azimuth-referenced head tracker (ARHT) data indicative of the head pose of the user;

in response to the current drift error exceeding the drift error threshold, generate initialization data based on the ARHT data and update the IMU with the initialization data;

and

transmit, via the ESA array, at least one outbound signal indicative of the updated IGHT data being the current georeferenced head pose of the user.

2. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein:

the IMU is updated with the initialization data at a known time;

and

the processor is configured to determine the current drift error based on an elapsed time from the known time corresponding to the most recent update of the IMU.

3. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the GPS receiver is a first GPS receiver and:

the remote transmitter includes a second GPS receiver;

and

the processor is configured to:

access a first georeferenced location of the first GPS receiver and a second georeferenced location of the second GPS receiver;

determine an azimuth baseline between the first GPS receiver and the second GPS receiver;

and

determine a georeferenced azimuth of the head-tracking device.

4. The head-tracking device of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to simultaneously determine the AoA and differential GPS information between the first GPS receiver and the second GPS receiver.

5. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the head pose of the user corresponds to one or more of a position of the head and an orientation of the head.

6. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the dismounted user is a first dismounted user and:

the remote transmitter is associated with one of: a second dismounted user, a ground-based vehicle, an airborne vehicle, a water-based vehicle, and an unmanned ground-based assembly.

7. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine one or more of the first angle, the first direction, the second angle, and the second direction.

8. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine control parameters corresponding to at least one of the first ESA element and the second ESA element, the control parameters including one or more of a time delay and a phase control.

9. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the first ESA element and the second ESA element include at least one radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC).

10. The head-tracking device of claim 1 , further comprising:

at least one interface configured to transmit the outbound signal to a head-worn display (HWD) worn by the user.

11. A head-tracking device capable of being carried by a dismounted user, comprising:

at least one inertial measurement unit (IMU) configured to be associated with a head of the dismounted user and to provide inertial georeferenced head tracker (IGHT) data indicative of a head pose of the user, the IMU having a time-cumulative drift error;

a data link transceiver configured to be associated with the head and comprising:

a GPS receiver;

an electronically steerable antenna (ESA) array including at least a first ESA element associated with one or more of a first angle and a first direction and a second ESA element associated with one or more of a second angle and a second direction, the first ESA element and the second ESA element configured to receive at least one inbound signal transmitted by a remote transmitter configured to be positioned at a distance from the head;

and

at least one processor configured to:

access the IGHT data;

determine an angle of arrival (AoA) of the inbound signal received by the first ESA element and the second ESA element;

determine, based on the AoA, azimuth-referenced head tracker (ARHT) data indicative of the head pose of the user;

determine a delta by comparing the IGHT data with the determined ARHT data;

in response to the determined delta deceeding a predetermined error threshold, transmit via the ESA array at least one outbound signal indicative of the IGHT data being a current georeferenced head pose of the user;

in response to the determined delta exceeding a predetermined error threshold, 1) generate initialization data based on the determined ARHT data and 2) update the IGHT data with the initialization data at a known time;

and

transmit via the ESA array at least one outbound signal indicative of the updated IGHT data being the current georeferenced head pose of the user.

12. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , wherein the GPS receiver is a first GPS receiver and:

the remote transmitter includes a second GPS receiver;

and

the processor is configured to:

access a first georeferenced location of the first GPS receiver and a second georeferenced location of the second GPS receiver;

determine an azimuth baseline between the first GPS receiver and the second GPS receiver;

and

determine a georeferenced azimuth of the head-tracking device.

13. The head-tracking device of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to simultaneously determine the AoA and differential GPS information between the first GPS receiver and the second GPS receiver.

14. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , wherein the head pose of the user corresponds to one or more of a position of the head and an orientation of the head.

15. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , wherein the dismounted user is a first dismounted user and:

the remote transmitter is associated with one of: a second dismounted user, a ground-based vehicle, an airborne vehicle, a water-based vehicle, and an unmanned ground-based assembly.

16. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to determine one or more of the first angle, the first direction, the second angle, and the second direction.

17. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to determine control parameters corresponding to at least one of the first ESA element and the second ESA element, the control parameters including one or more of a time delay and a phase control.

18. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , wherein the first ESA element and the second ESA element include at least one radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC).

19. The head-tracking device of claim 11 , further comprising:

at least one interface configured to transmit the outbound signal to a head-worn display (HWD) worn by the user.