Tobii EyeX

Has anyone used the EyeX in DCS? It states on it's site that DCS: World is supported. If you have used it in DCS, how is it?

If you haven't heard of it here's a look.

http://www.tobii.com/xperience/

Video showing off the EyeX in Arma 3

[ame=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2EcZMieoY]eyex[/ame]

Tracking your eye sound terrible, it means that if you have a bug screen and look at anywhere else than the center of it your view will shift, making it unable to focus your vision on one particular item...

Plus no 6dof for that price...

at anywhere else than the center of it your view will shift,

Is that not how your vision works in real life?

making it unable to focus your vision on one particular item...

That's exactly what your able to do if you have the settings right.

Plus no 6dof for that price...

6DOF is not an issue for me, I prefer key presses for zoom, and don't mind that I can't rotate my head. Also, it's only $10 cheaper than the Track IR w/o the promo code in that video.

I appreciate the input. I am considering this as an alternative to Track IR. I'm looking for input from people that may own the EyeX.

EDIT: Also, from the video and from what I've read it seems to have the same capabilities as Track IR (without zoom + head rotation), I'm just looking to see if someone prefers it over Track IR.

You'll have to explain me how it works then ...

The way I understand it, if you want to look at some thing at the right edge of your screen (say an airplane), you move your eyes to right.

But by doing so the view shifts right, and now that air plane is in the centre of your screen. So you return your eyes to looking straight ahead, and the image shifts to the left, the airplane is again to the right of your screen ...

So in my understanding, with this it will be impossible to focus your view on a single gauge inside the cockpit or to keep an enemy aircraft in the center of your screen.

With track ir you don't have this problem as head and eye movement are dissociated.

But maybe there is something I have not understood. I would like to have someone demonstrate you can keep an object in the centre of your view while moving around it with this.

Most (if not all) videos of the EyeX on youtube by popular simmers are sponsored, just keep that in mind, their reviews are pretty much worthless. Some are dishonest about it and don't disclose, but they're being paid to promote that thing.

Since it can't do what TIR does, who cares if it is a little bit cheaper?

You'll have to explain me how it works then ...

 

The way I understand it, if you want to look at some thing at the right edge of your screen (say an airplane), you move your eyes to right.

 

But by doing so the view shifts right, and now that air plane is in the centre of your screen. So you return your eyes to looking straight ahead, and the image shifts to the left, the airplane is again to the right of your screen ...

 

So in my understanding, with this it will be impossible to focus your view on a single gauge inside the cockpit or to keep an enemy aircraft in the center of your screen.

 

With track ir you don't have this problem as head and eye movement are dissociated.

 

But maybe there is something I have not understood. I would like to have someone demonstrate you can keep an object in the centre of your view while moving around it with this.

You are actually right. I actually didn't understand it(and thought I did). It seems to work fine in Arma 3, but I could see how it could be a bear in DCS.

Thanks everyone for your input. Guess I'll spend $10 extra bucks on Track IR! :hehe:

Thanks everyone for your input. Guess I'll spend $10 extra bucks on Track IR! :hehe:

I think I can say, with near certainty, that you will find it to have been a worthwhile expense. :)

I think I can say, with near certainty, that you will find it to have been a worthwhile expense. :)

^^ What he said... was a complete game changer when I first flew with a head tracker about 4 years ago...

EyeX Controller

Does anyone here have this hardware>?

Does it work good?

How is it compared to Trackir?

It seems to have DCS in the list ass supportd apps.

I would love to get rid of trackir if this hardware works well.

http://www.tobii.com/xperience/products/

No 6DoF so it is better to use EDtrecker than.

shrug.

how is this any different than FaceTrackAPI in Eye track mode and using FTNIR?

The only way you could use this in DCS, that I can think of, is in combination with a headtracking device, you could use your eyes to control the mouse pointer, if it's precise enough. Turn your head around to change view with TrackIR/whatever, and look at what ever switch you want to click.

I don't see any potential issue with compared to the way that I use TrackIR.

I rarely use TrackIR for ArmA 3 because I get disorientated with the way my character is actually looking and moving in the game. I've had TIR for years and used it with ArmA 2 as well - so far, after years of trying, I still don't like it in ArmA and think EyeX would be a completely different story.

As far as DCS World is concerned, I am hoping someone will upload a video very soon, demo'ing it's use (because the 30% discounts currently offered may expire). It looks fine whilst flying the helicopters in ArmA 3:

But it's not quite the same as DCS switch-flipping. The tracking is supposedly limited to a 27" screen, too. I use triple screens, but I don't honestly think that would be an issue. I rarely ever look at what is on the side screens when flying - they are entirely for peripheral views, to up the immersion.

If I want to look left or right, I move my head (TIR on) and what was in the left or right monitor moves to the centre one. So that would not make any difference with this 27" limit - it will still be on my 21.5" centre screen.

TrackIR has also been a real PITA for me, when trying to operate switches. 90% of the time, I have to pause TIR just to be able to flip a switch. Yes, I've adjusted my profile many times, and I've tried any amount of other people's profiles and it makes no difference. I also have had my PC and TIR set up in two different rooms, in several different places in each room (facing window, back to window, in corners etc etc) and it makes no difference. To actually have it steady enough to click an in-cockpit button and yet fluid enough to not lag looking around, I need to pause it most of the time. Especially when zoomed in.

I also am used to using manual zoom, rather than the TIR, so that also would not influence my decision on whether to buy this or not.

In the UK we have a recent law which says that a consumer has the right to return a product within 30 days for any reason (except if they broke it, of course), so I'm tempted to give this a go and see.

Edit: ah, here's another ArmA 3 in the A-10 doing CAS - same channel. Still not DCS, but gives a good impression, nevertheless.

Here's one of Take On Helicopters - I'm encouraged by the amount of motion the view has - similar to TrackIR - you can look around to the rear...

It is about 6 months old and I can only think that it must have got better since. Still very worrying that there are seemingly no videos showing its use in DCS World or FSX or P3D (in other words in a 'real' flight simulator), where cockpit controls are the order of the day. Though it would seem to cover the needs of FC3 aircraft.

Wow the technology in that is amazing. But it doesn't look like you get 6DoF

Really the 6dof is essential in a flight sim because you need that too see around canopy frames and even see some switches like the ones in the A-10 under the throttle.

And in ARMA the leaning command is done with 6dof.

A cool use for eye tracking will be in VR headsets so you can focus the resolution on your fovea. That would be excellent.

Good point - I'd forgotten about looking around joysticks and throttles :thumbup:

Although in the ArmA 3 video you can see he is using the lean keys (Q and E).

I wonder how well the two would work together (TIR and EyeX, pausing one and using the other)

TrackIR Killer?

I wonder if it would be beneficial to use both a headtracker and an eye tracker.

You could put a bigger deadzone in the headtracking software, so that you can use the eyetracker to glance down at gauges and radar screens etc. And then if you want to turn your head, you turn it as you would normally and the trackIR would kick in.

Not sure if that would work though.

Well, I've decided not to buy it and to stick with TIR for the moment. If it was a good solution, people would be singing it's praises in flight sims in these videos and they aren't.

I've also noticed that all of the so-called reviews on YouTube are 'sponsored' by the manufacturer. I haven't yet found a fully independent one.

Also, after Devildog Gamer confidently stated he would never use TrackIR again, in his EyeX 'review' video, he has only used TrackIR since and has refused to answer all enquiries about EyeX. Which was itself enough to make me take all of his videos with a pinch of salt, as it's clear where his priorities are.

I am sold.

I will try it.

I get tired of TrackIR not working when I look down. Plus for me Track IR twitches a lot and gives me trouble when trying to flip switches and such. Besides I use a battery powered USB device attached to my headset to make my TrackIR wireless and that would cut down on the weight of an already heavy wireless headset.

Please do let us know how you get on with it. :thumbup:

If their postage rates weren't so high, I would have given it a go. It raises the price to as much as I paid for my TrackIR 4 Pro.

I solved the looking down problem with TrackIR by using the hat clip and setting the peak high on my head - seems to work better.

I agree with the problem of using switches - it is overly sensitive and trying to get the balance between switch-flipping steady and look around smooth is hair-yankingly frustrating, regardless if using the hat or headset version.

PS - I just came across this recent posting on the Jester814 YT channel review of EyeX:

I'll tell you it this way. It has 3 sensors meaning it can't do 6DOF. This means you can't tilt or lean or all the other stuff that TrackIR can do. Think about that way. It's already a inferior product if it can't do what trackir does. All what eyex can do is look left,right, up, down.

Imagine a zoom by crossing your eyes :megalol:

I don't think it will be like: look at the button and it's centered.

That works fine as long as you have your buttons onscreen. If not, you have to increase your factor eye movement to your field of view. So you may check six by looking at the far left edge of your screen. But then you can only fix your target with your peripheral sight, because as soon as you look at it, your field of view changes as well.

Even in this video the tester had to move all important information into the center of his screen.

Looking forward to some hands-on-reviews for flightsims.