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Opensource headtracker using mems gyros

Started by h106frp, May 25, 2015, 11:04:50 PM

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h106frp

May 25, 2015, 11:04:50 PM Last Edit: May 25, 2015, 11:14:12 PM by h106frp
Found this and thought it might be interesting to those using infra-red based tracking. The pre-built at £40 seems a good deal, buying bit locally looks like it would be about £60.
Compatible with free track so should work OK in GPB.
No more camera probs, processor overhead or LED viewing angle issues :-), might even try this myself...

http://www.edtracker.org.uk/index.php

Had a quick look around and the 2 boards for home building can be had for less than £20 if you shop about  8)

Napalm Nick

Very interesting I will have to look at this more in depth, thanks. ;)
"The post you are writing has been written at least ten times already in the last 15ish years. Its already been reported, suggested, discussed, ignored or archived (but mostly ignored). Why are you doing it again?"

doubledragoncc

GPBOC Live Streams: https://www.youtube.com/c/IASystemsComputerControls; i7 12700K 5.1GHz Z690 ASUS Strix Z690-A Mobo 32GB 3600MHz DDR4 RAM ASUS Strix RTX3080 OC 10GB DDR6X ASUS Ryujin 360 AOI Cooler ROG Thor 1200w PSU in ROG Helios Tower Case.

HornetMaX

Tempted to try, but that would mean use rider POV :)

MaX.

h106frp

May 26, 2015, 10:22:50 AM #4 Last Edit: May 26, 2015, 10:42:31 AM by h106frp
Been mailing the guys involved in the project about suitable parts - probably the quickest and friendliest support ever  :) and they have given me a link for anyone who want to home build on the cheap, if you want the pre-made board(rather than vero) it would be another £5 from their website: this means that the cheapest build starts at £10 depending what suitable bits you have in your junk box  :)

http://hobbycomponents.com/electronics/440-diy-head-tracker-bundle

Worth building just for novelty value! As its a joystick emulator HID interface it would suggest that you could attach it to almost anything and turn it into a controller not just use it for head tracking duties. A piece of broom handle for virtual handlebars anyone?


edit: Could not help it - upgraded kit with magnetometer ordered, i will report results in the near future ;D

Napalm Nick

Sweet H,

looking forward to those reports!
"The post you are writing has been written at least ten times already in the last 15ish years. Its already been reported, suggested, discussed, ignored or archived (but mostly ignored). Why are you doing it again?"

doubledragoncc

This is great news. Thanks so much H. I can do the mechanical stuff but true electronics are still new to me. I played with gyros and accelerometers. But this is just right for head tracking.

DD
GPBOC Live Streams: https://www.youtube.com/c/IASystemsComputerControls; i7 12700K 5.1GHz Z690 ASUS Strix Z690-A Mobo 32GB 3600MHz DDR4 RAM ASUS Strix RTX3080 OC 10GB DDR6X ASUS Ryujin 360 AOI Cooler ROG Thor 1200w PSU in ROG Helios Tower Case.

HornetMaX

Quote from: h106frp on May 26, 2015, 10:22:50 AM
Worth building just for novelty value! As its a joystick emulator HID interface it would suggest that you could attach it to almost anything and turn it into a controller not just use it for head tracking duties. A piece of broom handle for virtual handlebars anyone?
Hmm interesting ... maybe it could be strapped directly to the joypad ... temptation rising (I'm a lazy ass, so pre-built for me for sure, if I decide to give it  a go).

Quote from: h106frp on May 26, 2015, 10:22:50 AM
edit: Could not help it - upgraded kit with magnetometer ordered, i will report results in the near future ;D

Magnetometer all the way ... just for the pleasure to tell your friend "Hey, stop touching my magnetometer !".

MaX.

P.S.
MEMS + magnetometer ... brings me back to the time I was working on satellites :)

h106frp

Definitely think the 'Tron' lightcycle handlebar thing would be fun to do - anybody build the bike model? movie physics would be a must have though  8)

@DD the head tracking demo on you tube is very impressive, they are using it in elite:dangerous. All the stuff is opensource and tested ready to go.

doubledragoncc

This is so good. I found the guys setup video so thought I would put the video here. It really shows how good this is. Its a real game changer.

https://www.youtube.com/v/VKRNNgCwgvs

DD
GPBOC Live Streams: https://www.youtube.com/c/IASystemsComputerControls; i7 12700K 5.1GHz Z690 ASUS Strix Z690-A Mobo 32GB 3600MHz DDR4 RAM ASUS Strix RTX3080 OC 10GB DDR6X ASUS Ryujin 360 AOI Cooler ROG Thor 1200w PSU in ROG Helios Tower Case.

doubledragoncc

May 26, 2015, 12:11:13 PM #10 Last Edit: May 26, 2015, 12:17:24 PM by doubledragoncc
LOL H was just watchin it. I think this is what is good for body movement. I tried just accelerometer before but not gyro yet, this is body movement dude not just head traking. Use 2 to do both!

Link with more videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=21&v=VKRNNgCwgvs

DD
GPBOC Live Streams: https://www.youtube.com/c/IASystemsComputerControls; i7 12700K 5.1GHz Z690 ASUS Strix Z690-A Mobo 32GB 3600MHz DDR4 RAM ASUS Strix RTX3080 OC 10GB DDR6X ASUS Ryujin 360 AOI Cooler ROG Thor 1200w PSU in ROG Helios Tower Case.

h106frp

May 26, 2015, 12:45:46 PM #11 Last Edit: May 26, 2015, 03:11:57 PM by h106frp
Basic capabilities of the sensor chip for info....

The MPU-9150 is a System in Package (SiP) that combines two chips: the MPU-6050, which contains a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, and an onboard Digital Motion Processor (DMP) capable of processing complex 9-axis MotionFusion algorithms; and the AK8975, a 3-axis digital compass.

Being opensource you will probably find that they are quite receptive to new application concepts and future developments for the device.

edit:some people have all the best toys, imagine this setup for GPB  8)
https://www.youtube.com/v/88OHrrHmbac

Main thing is his comment (in his YT caption block) as an experienced head track user.... 10 times better than the commercial optical system!! encouraging.

h106frp

May 30, 2015, 01:27:30 PM #12 Last Edit: May 30, 2015, 02:34:23 PM by h106frp
Got all the bits and built the device - pretty painless using the nicely manufactured pre-made circuit board. The board has a solder mask and through plated holes so soldering is easy if you follow the build sequence in the included instructions . Spent more time on cutting the enclosure than the circuit boards. The finished unit is a bit smaller than a match box 50 * 30 *20 (mm)

Few bugs found in the set up software and the most up to date set up guide is the you-tube one, the .pdf is a bit out of date for the magnetometer version.

Most annoying bug is if you click on the task bar icon the EDtracker software closes but does not close the virtual com port so need to re-boot to clear it before you can resume, but nothing that caused any real (system) issues.

Super stable head tracking and no camera issues to deal with - joy!  :) I think the 3dof is probably a lot less hassle than 6dof with a camera

Have got it working in-games using world of joysticks emulator for now which was easy to set up.
http://www.worldofjoysticks.com/

Just need to sort a set of headphones and a mount and i should be in business - watch this space  ;D

Main objective is to achieve that natural rider 'thing' of looking 'where you want to go' rather than always looking straight out in front of the bike. Any other features i will consider to be a bonus ;)

Napalm Nick

sweet H,

really looking forward to some in-use vids!
"The post you are writing has been written at least ten times already in the last 15ish years. Its already been reported, suggested, discussed, ignored or archived (but mostly ignored). Why are you doing it again?"

h106frp

May 30, 2015, 03:28:07 PM #14 Last Edit: May 30, 2015, 04:46:17 PM by h106frp
Damn...  the woj emulator is using cumalitive movement rather than absolute so you have to look the in the opposite direction to get it to centre. Back to looking for an emulation solution  :(

Real shame because it feels like the EDtracker unit itself is going to work really well......

If only you could assign 'look' to a joystick analogue axis in the game engine it would work straight away.

edit....

In the name of science, and so i could have a little play  ;) i persevered with woj and tweaked deadzone and gain to get something workable (not ideal though). Got to say its already apparent how much more immersive it feels with the tracking, actually feels much more like 'normal' riding when your riding towards what is in your line of sight rather than the bikes direction of travel.

It will take a bit of getting used to but already sharp turns are much easier when your looking in the right direction all the time:).

It is apparent that the translation needs to be as good (accurate) as the native EDtracker output, back to surfing the web to find a solution  :(.

I can see why people want OCRift, would be very cool if the effect of this little device is anything to go by.