Abstract: The invention applies to a pointing device of a mobile element, for example a cursor, on a plane surface. The pointing device comprises a first sensor for measuring the angular rates of the device and a second sensor of the linear accelerations along three dimensions of said device. Preferably, the first sensor is a two-axis or three-axis gyrometer and the second sensor is a three-axis accelerometer. The invention makes it possible to render the movements of the mobile element in the surface of the orientation in which the pointing device is held by its user. This result is achieved by global resolution of the angles of torsion by combining the measurements of the first and second sensors either within an extended Kalman filter or by application of an optimization criterion.

Abstract: A method of estimating the orientation of an object in space at time k using measurements of the total acceleration (yA), magnetic field (yM) and rotation speed (yG) of said object along three spatial axes, comprising the following steps: A—preprocessing of said measurements (yA, yM, yG) at a moment k to detect the existence of a disturbance in said measurements and estimate disturbance-free measurements at time k, B—estimation of the orientation ({circumflex over (q)}k) at time k by an observer from the disturbance-free measurements ({tilde over (y)}A,k, {tilde over (y)}M,k, {tilde over (y)}G,k) at time k obtained from the step A.

Abstract: The invention applies to a pointing device of a mobile element, for example a cursor, on a plane surface. The pointing device comprises a first sensor for measuring the angular rates of the device and a second sensor of the linear accelerations along three dimensions of said device. Preferably, the first sensor is a two-axis or three-axis gyrometer and the second sensor is a three-axis accelerometer. The invention makes it possible to render the movements of the mobile element in the surface of the orientation in which the pointing device is held by its user. This result is achieved by global resolution of the angles of torsion by combining the measurements of the first and second sensors either within an extended Kalman filter or by application of an optimization criterion.