leapMotion implementation possibility

[Topo]

20 hours ago, darkman222 said:

how did you get it working that you can actually touch buttons with your finger instead of using the fist as laser pointer?

Even after yesterdays update I cant do it. It looks maybe a checkbox is missing in  the option for leap motion.

I have "enable" and "arm visible" activated.

Maybe is module dependant?

Noticed it work with F/A-18 and F-16 but didn't in the Av8b

[gunterlund21]

On 7/16/2021 at 11:54 PM, gianlu320 said:

For what regards the hand tracking of the hands yes I think it's also the chair that blocks the camera but in my opinion this is because the hands are rendered too high compared to where they should be so you need to lower your hand a lot to be able to reach the side consoles and this is why the hand tracking is lost because you continue lowering your hand and at a certain point like you said the chair or the hotas will mask the tracking.

And as you said a calibrating functionality would be great, this would solve all these problems or simply a reset vr hands view function similar to our current Vr view reset.

With the VR view reset we have in dcs now we can not only recenter the view but moving forward or backward and recentering we can have our cockpit closer to us or further away.

It would be great to have a feature that works in a similar way for the hands only.

Would be great to know other people thoughts , ideas on this..

 

Im in complete agreement with this. We need a way to calibrate the hands. It seems like every time I go into this something is different with the hands. Sometimes all the fingers move like real hands, usually they dont, once I had the laser pointer coming out of the middle of the back of the left hand. Also need a way to release the hand from the stick or throttle when they get locked on. Dont want to fly the jet with the AI hands.

[darkman222]

No idea whats wrong on my end. I cant use the finger to push buttons ins any module. F16 F18... does not work for me.

[TED]

I'm pretty sure it's quite module dependent. I've had some success in the ka50 without too many issues, but the a10 is a nightmare, constantly interfering with controls and basically unusable now. 

I wonder how difficult it would be for ED to implement a code to allow for simple calibration and hide/show with a gesture or hot key?

[TripRodriguez]

On 7/9/2021 at 7:45 PM, LASooner said:

As silly as it may seem, it would be nice to have the option to disable interaction and just render hands so those with sim pits can just visualize hand position without inadvertently blowing the canopy when I'm trying to lower the hook. Those with 1:1 pits would benefit the most as you wouldn't have to feel around for a switch if you can see where your hand is going.

 

This is precisely all I want and need.  I just need to accurately SEE the position of my hands and fingers, NOTHING ELSE!  This is to allow me to easily use a real replica sim cockpit.  Please ED!

Edited July 27, 2021 by TripRodriguez

[Fisu_MAD]

Right now it is not very usable. In the F16 you can eject the dome, in the 18 you can lower the landing gear. There is no precision in pressing and I flick whatever switch is around. The rotaries are impossible to operate without pressing any element. Come on, this need a lot of love. Right now it has a lot of potential, but it is 0 usable.

VA por ti Dis XD

Edited July 29, 2021 by Fisu_MAD

[mrwell]

This is precisely all I want and need.  I just need to accurately SEE the position of my hands and fingers, NOTHING ELSE!  This is to allow me to easily use a real replica sim cockpit.  Please ED!

+1

[streakeagle]

I have had the leap motion for some time now.

Making it native to DCS World simplified installation and use, but others who have recently tried it confirm what I just proved: it really hasn't improved much since I first got it.

I have a new PC with a strong CPU, so I don't suffer any performance penalties for using it.

But the single camera cannot accurately maintain track of the hands, especially down low and to the sides.

Even when it does track accurately, it is too sloppy to operate controls.

 

I do like the above idea of using it solely to track hand position for use of sim pits while in VR, but it still needs more than one camera and possibly some gloves with reflectors or leds to make sure the position of the hands and fingers are accurately tracked at all times. 

Leap Motion is fun to try, but it was wasted money for me.

Edited August 11, 2021 by streakeagle

[darkman222]

Not really sure about what can be done by ED and what needs to be done by leap motion.

If you go on the leap motion website and download for example this app https://gallery.leapmotion.com/blocks/

And remember where the down low left and right switches are in the F16 you will see the same poor tracking results like in DCS.

 

Sure there is room for improvement by ED but I dont know how limited that is by the programming of leap motion.

[imacken]

Yep, so I bought a Leap Motion controller to use in DCS VR and I'm having a stack of issues.
1) whenever I try to run any apps in the Leap Gallery, I just get a 'controller not connected' type error message.
2) in Visualizer (and in DCS) I can see the hands OK, but fingers don't work properly in certain parts of the screen. If I move an outstretched fingers hand around, in certain locations, some fingers move to a closed position when they shouldn't do. This makes using the device useless in DCS as certain cockpit functions are activated by mistake!
3) Also, in DCS, I'm confused by blue lines and green lines emitting from the hands when fist clenched. What is the difference between the colours?
4) I can't see what the 'action' gesture is. When there is a button to press, then that works OK by just touching it with a 'finger', but when there is a 2 or 3 way switch, or a menu option, I can't tell how to action those.

5) it stops my PC from sleeping.  I have to disconnect it after each use.
So far, I would agree with @streakeagle and say it is a waste of money for DCS. But, I'm happy to be proven wrong as I might be missing something here.

On 8/10/2021 at 10:20 AM, darkman222 said:

Not really sure about what can be done by ED and what needs to be done by leap motion.

If you go on the leap motion website and download for example this app https://gallery.leapmotion.com/blocks/

And remember where the down low left and right switches are in the F16 you will see the same poor tracking results like in DCS.

 

Sure there is room for improvement by ED but I dont know how limited that is by the programming of leap motion.

I agree with that.  I don't think it's a ED thing as the same tracking issues are seen in Leap Motion apps.

[Gun Jam]

Im going to watch this carefully. I see this as having great potential for a sim pit that is built using modular blocks of something like insulation foam to represent a 1:1 block layout of the aircraft and additional items like gear levers and such could be added as well even switches could be added. The idea is everything is just for tactile feed back and require no power wires or controllers to function. You see it in the headset and reach for it real life and feel the gear lever and slide it up or rest your hand on the side of the F-16 ICP and use a thumb to enter a command.

 

The complexity of the block cockpit would be limited by the precision of the leapmotion controller. I could see this a being a viable thing in the next year or 2

Edited August 14, 2021 by Gun Jam

[Socialoutcast]

I have their newest hardware on the way. I am going to do a lot of testing and see if I can get this dev kit working any better then the original. The latest has better tracking and a wider angle of tracking. I spend A LOT of time in VR with DCS so I am hopeful I can get this working somewhat reliably in the beta.

[imacken]

Newest hardware? Leap Motion? Has their been a revision in the last week or so?

[darkman222]

I have the leap motion module for the Pimax. I can not find any information on a hardware update from leap motion. When you do your testing try the demo app called "blocks" by leap motion. I think that is what DCS is being fed with. So if you find ways to improve stuff it would also improve in that app.

This is how I test leap motion hardware.

For example if the down left switches are hard to use in DCS I try the same positon in the "blocks" app. If it produces the same results its a leap motion issue. Not DCS.

[imacken]

Yep, all my issues were present in Blocks and Visualiser. I came to the conclusion that none of the issues were down to DCS. 

I’m particularly interested in the post above that suggests a hardware update for that reason. 

[Enduro14]

So initial thoughts, reminds of when vr first came to dcs rough around the edges but I expected this.  I only spent about 40 minutes in dcs with leap motion so still figuring out the economy of motion with this.  For example up and down switches is it a flip your finger up or down on the switch or is it a stab it with finger light the mfd or UFC’s.  Going to nerd out on the tech and see what brings best hand tracking as I notice in the hind and f18 both when turning body left to flip some switches hand will disappear.  

  This will be amazing once you guys get this all ironed out, oh and like others have said an option to disable Hotas input will be perfect.  Another initial thought is need loud click noise for buttons and or switches as to help with the no physical feedback.

  My calibration was at 89 percent and certainly trying to figure that out the best as well.  Exciting

  Hind have issue reaching the weapons panel in pilots pit before hands disappear.

[Enduro14]

Food for thought have some adjusting to do in my man cave maybe tracking will improve 

[Enduro14]

Have to go say hi to a mig28 tomorrow 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Enduro14

[Leader98]

So far I have only been able to see my hands in the A10C-II cockpit which was a "goosebumps" moment as it felt very cool.

Successfully pressing a button is still on my target list.

[Enduro14]

I have found that leap motions 4.1 software works better with individual finger tracking and can press about every button I can reach.  Early days but it takes a light touch to manipulate the switches.  Also agree the dcs hands are not properly lined up with actual hands and need to have a size adjustment other than the iPd or world scale setting in dcs.  Having the size adjustment in its self I think will help.

 

  I have used the rift s controllers for all button switching and my methodology for manipulation of buttons I can’t reach would be to use the trigger and stick function on the controller that dcs has built in.  Now if we had a similar function with leap for those pesky out of reach switches this would be great.  I see the fist and thumb thing but honestly in its current form is way too inaccurate and unreliable.

 

fun tech and look forward to further updates.

[Enduro14]

Did a quick test with leap motion post patch today, no improvements on my end.  Tested in the Viper

[darkman222]

I would not expect lots of improvement in precision. If it seems quirky in DCS then test the same motion with the cube demo app by leap. It will have the same results. Usability like fading the hands out when using the stick etc, thats stuff that ED can implement. But the rest relies on the leap motion code I am afraid.

[Enduro14]

it relatively works well for me they just need to get the hand size correct and tidbits like that, so those options and hotas disable stuff not here yet.

[Fisu_MAD]

A little love would be nice.

[TED]

A simple and quick way to turn it on and off would solve a few problems. At least then we could avoid inadvertent switching of switches and interference with controls. Could dcs map this as a UI control? Then we could just switch on the leapmotion control as and when it’s needed and have it hidden when it’s not.