Head tracker idea

[Robb Bates]

For my new simpit, I'm thinking about implementing a kind of head tracker device. Let me know what you think.

Attached to the headrest or wall of the simpit right behind the pilot's head would be three "string pots" whose strings would attach to the pilot's headset near the left and right ear and on the top of his head.

So at rest, all three string pots would measure the same distance. If the pilot turns his head left, the left string pot would get shorter and the right one would get longer. The interface would calculate the difference and send a command to Orbiter to turn the view to the left. Same if he turns to the right. If he looks up, the top string pot would be shorter than the left and right and that difference would be calculated and the view changed accordingly. If he leans closer to the screen, all three would get longer and the view would zoom in.

I wonder if there is already something like this out there. Time for a google.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Robb Bates

 

[zerofay32]

Orbiter has TrackerIR.

Check it out: http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir

FreeTrack:

See this thread also:
http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=3247&highlight=TrackIR

But don't buy one. There are plenty of ways to build a "free" one.

Zerofay32

 

[Robb Bates]

As soon as I posted this I did a "head tracker" search and found FreeTrack. I will most definitely be using that! The YouTube video with FreeTrack and the DeltaGlider is just too darn cool!

Robb

 

[Robb Bates]

OK, so I tried out Freetrack last night. Very cool. My setup needs tweaking, but it has potential.

One major issue with Freetrack and Orbiter is the latency. It's like almost a whole second between me turning my head and Orbiter finally getting pointed in the right direction. It maybe my computer, camera, settings. But I suspect there is always going to be a significant lag with this solution.

Because of this, I may still try the string pot idea.

Comments?

Robb

 

[Hielor]

OK, so I tried out Freetrack last night. Very cool. My setup needs tweaking, but it has potential.

One major issue with Freetrack and Orbiter is the latency. It's like almost a whole second between me turning my head and Orbiter finally getting pointed in the right direction. It maybe my computer, camera, settings. But I suspect there is always going to be a significant lag with this solution.

Because of this, I may still try the string pot idea.

Comments?

Robb

The lag is probably from your setup. I have a TrackIR and there's no lag in Orbiter using it.

 

[Robb Bates]

No doubt there is some lag from my setup. I'm not using IR leds yet and I have to really fiddle with the camera settings so it only sees the red leds and nothing else. I'm sure that affects the frame rate coming from my camera.

No lag? Really? There's got to be SOME lag even with TrackIR. Maybe it's just really small and thus not really noticable.

Can you (or anyone else) make a good comparison between the latency of FreeTrack and that of TrackIR?

Robb

 

[Hielor]

No doubt there is some lag from my setup. I'm not using IR leds yet and I have to really fiddle with the camera settings so it only sees the red leds and nothing else. I'm sure that affects the frame rate coming from my camera.

No lag? Really? There's got to be SOME lag even with TrackIR. Maybe it's just really small and thus not really noticable.

Can you (or anyone else) make a good comparison between the latency of FreeTrack and that of TrackIR?

Robb

I've never used FreeTrack (I'm lazy and it was worth it to me just to get the TrackIR), but the lag is so small as to be unnoticeable in both Orbiter and FSX.

 

[Robb Bates]

After looking at TrackIR's website it looks like TrackIR does all the headtracking in hardware and FreeTrack does it all in software. That's probably where all the lag is coming from. That and my camera settings. I had assumed they were basically the same thing. i.e. a webcam and some software. But TrackIR's camera is a bit more than just a camera.

I guess all I can do is tweak things until the latency is as small as possible.

Robb

 

[Robb Bates]

This weekend, I wiped and installed XP on the best computer in our house. (Sempron 2400+, not the greatest, but the best I have). I put Orbiter on there and a different webcam with Freetrack. I got it working pretty well, framerate and latency wise. Still need to build a real (i.e. not kludged together) IR 3 point clip. But the latency is probably about 100-200ms and the Freetrack framerate is about 23fps (Orbiter framerate is 30-50). I think I can improve on both the latency and framerate with some more tweaks.

Here's the trick. After launching Freetrack, go into task manager and change it's priority to above normal. That solved so many problems. It doesn't seem to have affected the Orbiter frame rate much at all.

Still, after the improvement form playing and tweaking, I don't know if I'll end up using it. It started making me dizzy, And it was hard to tell which way was straight forward when using the glass cockpit or 2d panel. I may go with a "turn it on when I need it" approach.

Robb

 

[Hielor]

Still, after the improvement form playing and tweaking, I don't know if I'll end up using it. It started making me dizzy, And it was hard to tell which way was straight forward when using the glass cockpit or 2d panel. I may go with a "turn it on when I need it" approach.

Robb

Yeah, it's not really useful with glass cockpit or 2d panels. Where it excels is in the VC, but unfortunately not many Orbiter vessels have full VCs.

In FSX, where all of the default planes and many addon planes use a VC in preference to a 2d panel, the TrackIR is a complete game-changer. The latency for me is far less than 100-200ms (like I said, it feels instant), and the TrackIR is easily the best $150 I've spent in terms of a feeling of immersion while desktop flying.