COMPUTER INPUT DEVICE HAVING SIX DEGREES OF FREEDOM FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENT OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECT

An input device for providing position and orientation information with six degrees of freedom for use in manipulating a real or virtual three-dimensional object. An illustrative embodiment includes a handle with a plate attached to an upper portion thereof. Associated with an upper planar surface of the plate is a set of LEDs or other light sources arranged in a designated pattern. A camera or other suitable type of detection device detects light from the light sources in order to determine the position, e.g., X, Y and Z positional parameters, and orientation, e.g., roll, pitch and yaw rotational parameters, of the input device. Control software running on a computer system may be used to detect and localize the light sources that are visible in a given image generated by the camera, to associate each of the light sources with a corresponding label, to determine the position and orientation information from the positions of the light sources in the image, and to communicate the position and orientation information to at least one application running on the computer system.