MAINTAINING LOCALIZATION AND ORIENTATION OF ELECTRONIC HEADSET AFTER LOSS OF SLAM TRACKING

A method, apparatus, and computer program product maintains the ability of an electronic headset to localize and orient itself in space upon a loss of tracking by a SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) system by switching to an auxiliary tracking mode upon detection of a loss of accurate tracking by the SLAM system. In one example, the auxiliary tracking mode is based upon detection of a “fingerprint” on a flat surface imaged by one or more cameras in the headset. The fingerprint is defined by a pattern of photographically-identifiable features on the flat surface, such as a pattern of colors and/or textures. In another example, the auxiliary tracking mode is based upon a location of the headset as obtained from an external LPS (local positioning service) and an orientation of the headset as measured by an IMU (inertial measurement unit) provided in the headset.