PointCTRL - Finger Mounted VR Controller

MilesD,

Have you seen this? Logitech VR keyboard:

This would be a nice addition to DCS in VR; hope they eventually make it compatible with all devices...

Cheers,

Vulture

Hi Kirk66, there is no need for the list to be posted any more as we will be able to purchase the FCU's and HMS (fingers crossed all goes well) from the direct web site Miles is creating. Just need to keep following this thread patiently and wait for new's.

Update: I just wanted to share a pic of the FCU in black, as well as my productive fails. I ordered some grey ABS also to see how that looks. This is without any post processing. Working on the CNC mill fixture right now to mill the slots for the attachment straps. When I integrated slots in the 3D print I was not satisfied with the results.

Questions:

BTW MilesD, (I may have asked this before) how does and 18Z turn into cranking out a VR mouse? Interesting pivot in your career!.

I have asked myself that many times.

awsome! How could I miss that?

But please: update the first post so we don't need to scroll all pages :)

Q1: do you sell samples right now?

Q2: do you ship to Europe?

Q3: regarding Vive issues: do you ship the Oculus version anyway?

Thx!

Good suggestion on updating the first page, I will do that. Thanks

Thanks Deano97 for answering Q1, Q2, and Q3

Fantastic work Miles

Did you find a solution for the interferences coming from the vive base stations?

I think so, I have to get over to Los’s to deliver Serial Number 1 and test it.

MilesD,

Have you seen this? Logitech VR keyboard:

This would be a nice addition to DCS in VR; hope they eventually make it compatible with all devices...

Cheers,

Vulture

Thanks for the link Kirk, That’s looks really interesting. I must look into that tech some more.

Thanks everyone for the questions and support.

Miles

Looks so much better in the black Miles, as always great to see progress :D

Hi Kirk66, there is no need for the list to be posted any more as we will be able to purchase the FCU's and HMS (fingers crossed all goes well) from the direct web site Miles is creating. Just need to keep following this thread patiently and wait for new's.

FireCat,

OK, thanks; will do!

Vulture

Miles, what 3D printer did you buy and is it doing what you wanted it too? I'm thinking of getting one.

Looks so much better in the black Miles, as always great to see progress

Agreed!

I did wonder about the design of the FCU's and if the shape could be smoothed out a bit. A gentle curve on the top of the box as opposed to the hard edges. But whether this could be achieved without increasing the size of the unit is the question. As it obviously needs to be kept as small and light as possible.

It's hard to say without actually having one in your hand, or rather on it... :)

It's looking good at the moment though I must say and may actually not be an issue at all. So apologies for waffling on! :music_whistling:

maybe miles wants to make the 3d files available for buyers, so we can modify it or print in our prefered color ?

I hope not. I’d rather receive it as an assembled product. And does it really matter what colour it is if you’re in VR? ;)

Well as I will have my head in my VR headset (so won't be looking at it) the only thing that matters to me is the feel and interaction how it looks and what color it is, is neither here nor there. If it is going to make flying in DCS more of a fluid experience (which I am sure it will) that's all that matters. I'll accept it as it comes.

why not, i am sure he will send a finished product.

making the files avbl just for the guys that want to personalize it ,

Hey Guys,

Just a quick update. After much trial and error, I have the HMS enclosure and HMD specific mounts complete. Nothing fancy to look at. I just made it as small and functional as possible for now. The HMS enclose snaps into the HMD specific mount which is attached with double face tape. The 3D prints look better in person than in the pics and the finish is still a WIP.

@ RatCatcher, I am not entirely happy with the box look of the FCU either, but we are really limited by LiPo battery. I may be able to put a bit more of a radius on the upper edges. My goal was to make the FCU narrow enough for people with smaller fingers and have it not interference with the joystick. In the future I may look at a lower design profile that extends further up the hand.

@Marineer3302. I am currently using a XYZ Davinci 1.0. I think its about 4 years old and I did not have much use for it until now. I have 4 CNC machines in my shop and never thought much of 3D printing until I got into this project.

The sheer speed to go from CAD to print is remarkable, The CAM phase, and setup for CNC operations is time consuming. Ther is also much more design flexabilty with 3d printing than traditional milling. I am sold on it, and still deciding on my requirements for a production 3d printer.

@ FoxDelta, I certainly would consider sharing stl files with customers in the future.

Every day we get a little closer. Its just taking much longer than I anticipated. I am working on PointCTRL full time, but it’s just me, thanks for your patience. Please feel free to share all observations and feedback, to include negative ones that can may contribute to a better product.

Thanks

Miles

Here are some rough prints that don’t represent the final product surface finish.

Looking great Miles! Good to see progress. Are you confident that you got the Vive lighthouse interference sorted out?

Looking good. Can't wait!

can't wait too !!!

Does it will works on other sims like Xplane, IL-2 ?

Il2 does not have clickable cockpit so I would say no but it should work with xplane

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Take my money already!

My Hornet-Warthog & Huey eagerly awaits :)

I received 2 Steam VR 2.0 lighthouses today for interference testing with PointCTRL. They are really amazing tech. There is no problem filtering out the coded lasers carrying the positional data. My only concern is PointCTRLs IRLED interfering with the lighthouse comms with the vive pro. Since it operates on a very high carrier freq, I don't see it being a problem as long as PointCTRLs PWM dimmer is tuned to a different freq.

Here a few pics of the Vive HMD mount.

Thanks, Miles

Looking great Miles!

Okay Guys,

If something sucks, please feel free to tell me. I truly want your feedback, positive and negative. I was not pleased with the HMS mounts, so I am sure many of you said "ugg", but were to polite to say anything. Just as RatCatcher asked about smoothing edges on the FCU, I appreciated his feedback and I am going to try and increase the radius on the FCU based on his feedback.

My mistake on the HMS mounts was trying to make them quick change for users with multiple devices. In the end end the whole thing just got to big and ugly. With this new design the whole mount stays attached to the HMD and the PCB and sensor can quickly be removed to put into a different device. These are still rough prints that need some more refining but I think its going in a better direction. All of PointCTRLs components will be available to purchase as a set or individual pieces to include just enclosures or PCB's. In the pics are the Vive and Vive Pro mounts and the graph squares are 1/4", and 6mm.

Thanks,

Miles

Every headset is a little different, instead of mounting in an L shape over the top, could it just have a flat back. That way you could mount it anywhere on the face of the HMD. Maybe you need it that shape for the circuit board. It would be nice if you had an option to mount with double sided tape or Velcro. I would like to try it on both of my headsets.

Every headset is a little different, instead of mounting in an L shape over the top, could it just have a flat back. That way you could mount it anywhere on the face of the HMD. Maybe you need it that shape for the circuit board. It would be nice if you had an option to mount with double sided tape or Velcro. I would like to try it on both of my headsets.

I had originally planned on mounting the HMS on the face like Leap Motion as you suggested, but a few things changed that.

1) The IR LED is located 1" or 25mm above your finger so to keep the relationship of the sensor to finger it needs to be mounted above the center line if the HMD.

2) Though testing, a slighter higher mounting location on the HMD gave a better line of sight to the IRLED when interacting with switches that are lower and on the sides of the cockpit. Specifically, shoulders would block the sensor when you were reaching behind you for a switch. This also benefits those of us whose like Beer, and result thereof can block the line of sight to a switch mounted low in the center panel.

3) While not a big issue, the IR Sensor is designed to mounted at an 90 degree angle to the PCB.

As far as trying it on different devices of the same model you can certainly use Velcro to mount it, Great Idea.

Miles

Honestly I don’t have any issue with the way the sensor or FCUs looks but I’ve always been more about function than style ;). If I was going to suggest anything it would be to print it at a smaller layer depth as whatever you’re using at the moment looks a bit course. I’d probably go for 0.2mm, I find that just gives me a nicer surface finish but that’s probably 3D printer dependant. Either way that’s just nitpicking, I don’t really care as long as it functions properly.

Any word on sensor design/implementation for 2D?