US Patent 7630555 Position and orientation measuring method and apparatus

A position and orientation measuring apparatus includes an inside-out index detecting section that can obtain an image from an imaging apparatus and detect an index provided on a measuring object body, an outside-in index detecting section that can observe and detect indices provided on the imaging apparatus and on the measuring object body based on an image obtained from an outside-in camera provided in an environment, and a position and orientation calculating section that can calculate positions and orientations of the imaging apparatus and the measuring object body based on information relating to image coordinates of the detected indices.