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PointCTRL - Finger Mounted VR Controller


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Now Shipping 1 thru 425 for Version 1 from FireCats List https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php...&postcount=690

 

PointCTRL is an index finger mounted device that enables pilots operating Virtual Reality flight simulators the ability to interact with cockpit controls naturally and intuitively.

 

PointCTRL Kit Includes

HMS (Head Mounted Sensor)w/ mount, 2 FCUs (Finger Control Units) w/150mah lipo batteries, 2 USB chargers w/o 5v USB power supply , Fire-resistant FCU case, 10ft Micro USB cable, and assorted attachment supplies.

Price $175.00 USD

 

PointCTRL_800x600.jpg

 

Video Review by Salamander   (Airline Pilot and Avid Flight Simmer)

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Optional Headset Mounted triple Aux Push-button banks (APB) In Stock

 

Includes 1, 3 button bank, 150mm 4 wire harnes, and VHB double sided mounting tape attached.

Price $12.50 USD each

 

To order Auxilly Push Buttons "APB", send an email to orders@pointctrl.com and in the subject line, add Order-APBs

in the body write country being shipped to. You will receive a paypal invoice to complete the order.

 

Buttons are hard coded as q,w,e,r,t,y and are assigned in DCS under keyboard just as you would assign any key.

Deanos_Aux_Buttons.jpg

AUXBTNS_small.jpg

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Available Manufacturer Specific HMS Mounts One mount included with kit with VHB double sided tape attached.

Oculus CV1

Oculus S
Quest 1
Quest 2

HP Reverb G1 & G2

HTC Vive

HTC Vive Pro

Samsung Odyssey

Pimax 5K

Valve Index

Generic

Non VR Static Mount

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Spare Parts

Recommended - USB Charge Monitor and and data logger $10.00

 

None of the spares below are required or necessary,

( PointCTRL Kits comes complete with each of the items below )

 

HMS Mount Body Only - Specify Type $8.00

HMS Cover - Universal $4.00

FCU Body Only w/strap - Specify left or right $8.00

FCU Front $2.00

10ft/3m Light Weight Braided Micro USB Cable $8.00

USB charger w/o power supply $8.00

150mah Lithium polymer battery $5.00

Lipo Fire Safe Bag $8.00

 

Shipping

U.S. Shipping $6.00

Canada $20.00

Europe $26.00

Australia $26.00

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How to Order

Please follow these steps:

1) Go to http://pointctrl.com and click on the PREORDER tab.

2) Fill out the form and press submit.

3) You will then receive your PayPal invoice when your PointCTRL kit is in final testing. Please check the invoice to confirm your order, if something is wrong, send an email to Carol at orders@pointctrl.com

 

If you missed your number just follow the above procedure and your order will be processed immediately following the current groups.

 

Thanks,

Miles

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Links

PointCTRL website with Set-Up instructionshttps://pointctrl.com/

FireCat's information links https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php...postcount=1149

PointCTRL Support Discord https://discord.gg/jH5FktJ

 

 

 

Great user video by Andrew U.K. showing his mocked up panels for even more immersion.

Thanks Andrew, Great Stuff!!

 

 

 

 

Old Initial Post

Hey Guys,

I have been developing a VR mouse emulating device for the past 6 months, and I am close to posting some pics and videos of a working production prototype. I have been using a prototype of this device with DCS for a few months now. Those that fly on the 99th ‘s server are familiar with it. I have not wanted to say anything here because a lot of claims are made and products don’t materialize. But I woke up this morning and said, “why not?”. The device is called PointCTRL, and consists of 2 wireless, wearable index finger devices, a wireless HMD mounted micro tracking camera, and a USB dongle receiver. The ring type devices have three tactile push buttons along the inbound sides, allowing them to be identified and pressed with the thumb. Each ring is tracked in 2d space only, emulating mouse movement and button presses. No external software is required to run PointCTRL, as it is only recognized as a standard HID mouse. Software is provided to customize personal parameters and functions. So basically, instead of searching for the mouse or picking up a secondary controller, you just point at the switch, button, or lever you want to interact with, and then press one of the three tactile switches to operate it. If it’s a control that is mouse clickable, and you can see and point at it anywhere in your 360-degree environment, you can interact with it. A companion product will also be available that simulates touching a cockpit panel. The mouse press is emulated when finger contact is made with the panel, while the position is being tracked by the camera. PointCTRL can also be configured to work with standard monitors. Part of my reason for posting my progress is to help me stay focused on this task, as I tend to get distracted by shiny things. I am going to post pics and possibly a video in 1 week, not 2 weeks, but 1 week. I will try and answer any further questions in a somewhat timely manner, but I only have 6 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes to get some pics and videos out.

 

Thanks,

 

Miles


Edited by MilesD
  • Like 1

Now shipping up to website Pre-Order Form date 2022/03/10

Pre-Order  Form Submission https://pointctrl.com/preorder-form/

PointCTRL Support Discord https://discord.gg/jH5FktJ

PintCTRL Website https://pointctrl.com/

PointCTRLsmall.jpg

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promising. depending on the cost I would buy ! I bought the cougar sensors as well !

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That long post and forgot to mention the price. I know this is a niche market but, I really want to make this as accessible as possible to everyone who wants this . I was originally shooting for $150.00 usd price point, but it is probably going to have to come in around $175.00. The package will include the wireless HMD sensor, 2 wireless wearable rings (left and right index fingers), base station receiver, 6 rechargeable micro lipo batteries (3 extras), and USB charging station. The panel add-on should be around $50.00 usd.

 

Miles

Now shipping up to website Pre-Order Form date 2022/03/10

Pre-Order  Form Submission https://pointctrl.com/preorder-form/

PointCTRL Support Discord https://discord.gg/jH5FktJ

PintCTRL Website https://pointctrl.com/

PointCTRLsmall.jpg

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That long post and forgot to mention the price. I know this is a niche market but, I really want to make this as accessible as possible to everyone who wants this . I was originally shooting for $150.00 usd price point, but it is probably going to have to come in around $175.00. The package will include the wireless HMD sensor, 2 wireless wearable rings (left and right index fingers), base station receiver, 6 rechargeable micro lipo batteries (3 extras), and USB charging station. The panel add-on should be around $50.00 usd.

 

Miles

 

if the system end up working as advertised, this is very reasonable and I will be trying for sure. Cout me in. I have a Oculus rift

 

thanks for your hard work


Edited by FZG_Immel

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Two questions 1) do you need testers? 2) can you use just one device? Like on the left hand only for helos the right needs to stay on the cyclic during flight. It would be interesting to try out btw I can beta tease with any and all mods as I have them.

BlackeyCole 20years usaf

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Acer predator laptop/ i7 7720, 2.4ghz, 32 gb ddr4 ram, 500gb ssd,1tb hdd,nvidia 1080 8gb vram

 

 

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@ Oesau, I do plan too ship overseas, I have to do a bit more research on the CE certification.

@ Blacley, PointCTRL will come with both left and right hand devices, however, you can wear only 1 if you want. I mostly fly helicopters also, but I always put both on because I often end up switching to the MI8, which requires using your right hand also for switches.

Thanks for the interest,

Miles

 

Update:

I cut the latest iteration of some test boards today, and I will be mounting the SMD components tomorrow. These are only to confirm production board design and circuitry. Production boards will be professionally manufactured.

PointCTRL_TestBoard_sm.jpg


Edited by MilesD
grammar

Now shipping up to website Pre-Order Form date 2022/03/10

Pre-Order  Form Submission https://pointctrl.com/preorder-form/

PointCTRL Support Discord https://discord.gg/jH5FktJ

PintCTRL Website https://pointctrl.com/

PointCTRLsmall.jpg

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@ Oesau, I do plan too ship overseas, I have to do a bit more research on the CE certification.

@ Blackey, PointCTRL will come with both left and right hand devices, however, you can wear only 1 if you want. I mostly fly helicopters also, but I always put both on because I often end up switching to the MI8, which requires using your right hand also for switches.

Thanks for the interest,

Miles

 

Update:

I cut the latest iteration of some test boards today, and I will be mounting the SMD components tomorrow. These are only to confirm production board design and circuitry. Production boards will be professionally manufactured.

PointCTRL_TestBoard_sm.jpg

 

defintely count me in

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Asus Z390-H - SSD M.2 EVO 970 - Intel I9 @5.0ghz - 32gb DDR4 4000 - EVGA 3090 - Cougar FSSB + Virpil WRBRD + Hornet Stick - Thrustmaster TPR Pedal + WinWing MIP + Orion + TO and CO pannels - Track IR5

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Something I would definitely be interested in.

 

If you can ship to the UK..."I'm in!" :thumbup:

 

Good luck with the development.

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I`m curious for more infos on your device to come.:thumbup:

One question. Is it possible to use rotary knobs with the device? Like: pointing the cursor with your finger to the rotary knob in the cockpit, then pressing one of the three buttons on the device, holding it pressed and then moving your finger/hand slightly in one direction to move/rotate the rotary knob.


Edited by ram0506

I7 6700K, Asus Z170 Pro Gaming, EVGA GTX1080Ti SC, 32GB DDR4 @ 3000, Win10 64, BenQ EW3270ZL 2560x1440, VPC WarBRD Base + TM Warthog Grip, TM Warthog Throttle, MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals, Oculus Rift S

 

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Yes, I am interested...:thumbup: I like the ideas that someone who uses DCS is making this. I Would support this product because of that. The price point looks reasonable too. Count me in as a beta tester as I fly DCS every day!:joystick::pilotfly:

 

Keep us posted.

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Hey Guys,

All great questions,

 

@ Ram0506

Your explanation is exactly how it works. Interactions with rotary knobs are identical to the mouse. A nice unintended feature is that in addition to moving the mouse away from the rotary knob with the mouse button held to rotate it, you can also just press one of the side mounted pushbuttons and rotate your hand left to make the dial rotate left and rotate your hand right to make it rotate right. I only became aware of this feature when I was watching a friend test it, and I asked him why was he was rotating his finger. He said, ”I'm turning the dials,” I said, “It doesn't work that way,” and he said, “Well, I'm turning the dials." Confused, I then watched him continue to change radio frequencies in this manner. I then realized that the IRLED on top of finger device was following an arc as he rotated his hand. This same intuitive rotation of the knob is seen by DCS as moving the mouse away from the knob, therefore rotating the knob. I know that was a long explanation, I should have just said, “Why yes, I designed it so you can rotate your hand to turn knobs.” :)

 

@ Icebeat

I don’t have Captogloves, but they appear to be a really great product with a much larger, and varied market than PointCTRL. I personally just don’t feel the current features are compatible with most flight sim requirements. As you referenced, their ability to measure X,Y rotational axis through gyroscopes and accelerometers, and not relative or absolute positional hand tracking, affects their functionality in a cockpit environment.

PointCTRL has different design requirements which only focus on flight simulator cockpit interaction and functionality. The major difference between PointCTRL and CaptoGloves is hand tracking. PointCTRL has a micro camera that mounts to the HMD to track your index fingers 2D location relative to the direction of the HMD. Another difference is PointCTRL does not track your finger digits relative to your hand as CaptoGlove does. Early versions of PointCTRL utilized a gyro and accelerometers to measure finger movement. Even though you would flick your finger as you would a real switch to activate it, it just felt unnatural. I then moved on to a small touchpad alongside your finger. This was better, but still felt disconnected. Finally, I implemented my original thoughts to use tactile pushbuttons with a low operating force. I immediately knew this was what I was looking for. Using real pushbuttons allow you to easily identify them, and provide a tactile feedback concurrent with the switch or knob movement on the screen. If I only went with my original design I would have saved a month in development time. PointCTRL only has 2d positional tracking not 3d. Since we are emulating the currently implemented mouse cursor in any game, 3d is not required. All of PointCTRLs operational programming and processing is done on its own microcontrollers (4 of them). You just plug it in and it shows up as PointCTRL in the device manager and is recognized as a HID mouse. It works without any additional software running or sim developer implementation. PointCTRL also does not show your hands on the screen, it only shows the mouse curser that is in the game. Okay, less talk, more work for me.

 

Thanks for the questions,

 

Miles


Edited by MilesD
grammar
  • Like 1

Now shipping up to website Pre-Order Form date 2022/03/10

Pre-Order  Form Submission https://pointctrl.com/preorder-form/

PointCTRL Support Discord https://discord.gg/jH5FktJ

PintCTRL Website https://pointctrl.com/

PointCTRLsmall.jpg

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Very interesting indeed :)

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Miles Incase you didn’t understand I’m a potential client

BlackeyCole 20years usaf

XP-11. Dcs 2.5OB

Acer predator laptop/ i7 7720, 2.4ghz, 32 gb ddr4 ram, 500gb ssd,1tb hdd,nvidia 1080 8gb vram

 

 

New FlightSim Blog at https://blackeysblog.wordpress.com. Go visit it and leave me feedback and or comments so I can make it better. A new post every Friday.

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Thanks for your answer, Miles! Great to have the possibility for interaction with rotary knobs.

I7 6700K, Asus Z170 Pro Gaming, EVGA GTX1080Ti SC, 32GB DDR4 @ 3000, Win10 64, BenQ EW3270ZL 2560x1440, VPC WarBRD Base + TM Warthog Grip, TM Warthog Throttle, MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals, Oculus Rift S

 

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I am one very interested in a solution for hotas+vr in dcs, and this seems to be a good interim solution until more advanced “hands on vr” are available.

 

1) What is the $50 panel addon? I dont understand its use.

 

2) How long will a battery charge last? I know you supply with 3 additional ones, but I am concerned about having to change them too often.

 

3) The sensor is an IR on the headset? Similar to the Leap Motion? In this case I have a concern as to how it will not loose track of my hands when I turn my head or have a hard to reach switch.

 

4) To be honest $175 is too much for me. I imagine the challenges and expenses in the tech involved, but I would not pay more than $100 for what it promises. Just being honest, but I know we live in a world were some spend $1300 on a gpu or a phone.

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