A system and method for calibrating a helmet with a plurality of optical markers thereon is provided. The system includes a memory, a camera and a mechanical actuator to which the helmet is connected during the calibration process so that it is movable relative to the camera. A processor is connected to the camera and the mechanical actuator and is programmed to control the mechanical actuator to move the helmet relative to the camera through a plurality of discrete points on a calibration target pattern and at each of the discrete points, control the camera to take a digital image. For each of the images, the processor determines the position of at least one of the plurality of markers in the image and uses the position of the at least one marker in the image together with the position of the mechanical actuator to calibrate the helmet.