Someone Please Invent a BETTER Headtracker

[Gruman]

OT: Thats a really nice setup you have there MustangSally. I like it.

 

@WelshZeCorgi

Have you tried inverting your setup? Putting the TrackIR behind you and adjusting the Trackclip Pro accordingly? This way you can actually have the TrackIR level with your head. You just have to invert some axis.

 

This was officially recommended by NaturalPoint on the forums for large monitors.

It might be worth a shot.

But again, this is a perfect example what could been improved in a TIR6... Larger coverage / multi-Sensor setup...

[Frederf]

as they use the hooks and code specifically designed for TrackIR

 

The software was only written to have hooks for TrackIR because to support other hooks was against the contract. I cannot show you see anti-competitive corporate behavior that you have decided not to see.

[SharpeXB]

The software was only written to have hooks for TrackIR because to support other hooks was against the contract. I cannot show you see anti-competitive corporate behavior that you have decided not to see.

Why would they let other devices hack their software? Or vice versa?

Again you can decide for yourself that you want coat hangers and rubber bands on your head. The rest of us want a real quality commercial product.

[Cpt Cuckoo]

Actually I do think it will fit on a very thin screen provided it’s not moving. If you set the laptop on a table it would work. Certainly better than a PS3 camera.

Well.....it's a laptop. It moves. That's part of a laptop's job. That's not going to change. So whatever needs to be mounted to it needs to be clamped in place firmly....

 

AND ........... those clamps need to be out of the way of the screen and not cover any portion of it.

 

and I am fairly certain that the legs on the trackir mount are too long and will hang over the screen. Unless the mount is jimmy-rigged in some fashion. An unknown fashion. Unless there is someone out there who has spent the money on this product and has done this jimmy-rigging successfully.

 

I've never had my hands of a TrackIR so I can't say. The PS3 is in the same category. An Unknown. There is a clamp available for the PS3 but I don't know if it clamps tight enough to be of use either. There may be a way to Velcro these cameras into place.

 

And this is why this topic was started.

 

It seems to me that the principle of this technology should already be outdated given the speed which technology is advancing.

[SharpeXB]

Well.....it's a laptop. It moves. That's part of a laptop's job. That's not going to change. So whatever needs to be mounted to it needs to be clamped in place firmly....

 

AND ........... those clamps need to be out of the way of the screen and not cover any portion of it.

 

and I am fairly certain that the legs on the trackir mount are too long and will hang over the screen. Unless the mount is jimmy-rigged in some fashion. An unknown fashion. Unless there is someone out there who has spent the money on this product and has done this jimmy-rigging successfully.

 

I've never had my hands of a TrackIR so I can't say. The PS3 is in the same category. An Unknown. There is a clamp available for the PS3 but I don't know if it clamps tight enough to be of use either. There may be a way to Velcro these cameras into place.

 

And this is why this topic was started.

 

It seems to me that the principle of this technology should already be outdated given the speed which technology is advancing.

The legs of the clip extent 1/2” onto the screen, the way the clip is designed it would stay on a very this screen as long as the laptop was kept still. Like set on a table. It does clamp on with a bit of force, maybe enough to handle gentle tipping, just not a lot.

I think the reality of selling something like this is that nobody will design this as just software without a hardware component because it would just be vulnerable to piracy. Plus the TIR camera is also an IR emitter for the TrackClip reflectors, this wouldn’t work through a typical webcam. I think TrackIR is actually the best solution to your setup.

[Ranma13]

The software was only written to have hooks for TrackIR because to support other hooks was against the contract.

 

Sigh...I wrote an entire breakdown of every erroneous point, yet you only quoted one phrase that doesn't even support your claim. Once again, entire quote was:

 

Any product that access the game for head tracking other than TrackIR is infringing upon NaturalPoint's patents as they use the hooks and code specifically designed for TrackIR that allow for control of the camera view.

 

In other words, those products are infringing on NaturalPoint's patents specifically because they're using TrackIR's hooks and code. Nowhere does it mention that it's against the contract to support other hooks.

 

I cannot show you see anti-competitive corporate behavior that you have decided not to see.

 

Just like how I can't show you that just because one person wrote sentences on a website, does not make it true. I'm not here to change your mind; either you believe the only website in existence that makes such claims with broken links, or you look at the source info and draw your own conclusions. Not a lot of people will do the latter because it's much easier to take one person's claims at face value and get all outraged over it, than it is to do your own research.

 

Either way, the existence of the Tobii Eye Tracker in and of itself proves your anti-competitive claim to be false. Not gonna waste my time with you any longer.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Ranma13

[Gruman]

The legs of the clip extent 1/2” onto the screen, the way the clip is designed it would stay on a very this screen as long as the laptop was kept still. Like set on a table. It does clamp on with a bit of force, maybe enough to handle gentle tipping, just not a lot.

...

I think TrackIR is actually the best solution to your setup.

 

I just tried my TrackIR Clip on my old Surface Pro 4 (which is probably even thicker than a more modern Notebook) and well the mount isnt stable enough. Especially if the screen moves when there is a small shake on the table.

 

But I have to agree. If you dont fancy webcam with FaceTrackNoIR, currently there is no ohter solution in this formfactor than the 10 year old TIR5 (which makes me sad as well).

For the mounting, I would go with a 3d printer and 2 sets of velcro and you have a perfect mount for your notebook you can throw into your notebook bag without fear of breaking anything.

[ZQuickSilverZ]

Tech is constantly advancing!

It's been a few years now that headtrackers have been available.

 

Isn't it time that someone invented a BETTER headtracker device? There is no reason why one still should have to mount a clunky PS3 camera onto a monitor. First off, they are unstable when mounted usually and second, too clunky to mount on a laptop lid without jury rigging it and making a mess.

 

Either invent a better PS3 camera that will fit on a laptop or make them so they can EFFECTIVELY use the camera in the Laptop lid.

 

Just wondering if anyone has solutions to this.

My solution was to go hybrid. I use an EDTracker for Yaw and Pitch while using a PlayStation 3 cam and a UTC MK II for X, Y, and Z. The camera used to lose tracking whenever I would look down or too far one direction, with an ED tracker I can be in the next room doing my best Linda Blair impression and still not lose tracking.

 

I use OpenTrack to enable this HYBRID system.

 

Here is where to get those items.

 

EDTracker

http://www.edtracker.co.uk (I could not get this to load at the time of this writing)

 

UTC MK II

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=159647

Contact via email: vgddevices@gmail.com or PM, here on forum.

 

OpenTrack

https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/releases

 

MODIFIED PS 3 CAM

https://delanengineering.com/shop/PS3-Camera-IR-Filter-Removed-p50254011

 

If you want just a camera solution here is a product on Steam. I own it but have not tested it yet.

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/929270/ViewTracker/

 

There is a FREE demo if you are interested,

[erniedaoage]

@cpt cuckoo: Why don't you just use the aruco marker? It's a printed piece of paper and it works with every webcam. Only thing you need is opentrack software. https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/wiki/Aruco-tracker

[Len62]

If the programmer of Smooth Track could port his program to run under Windows using the built in cam on your laptop, problem solved? Maybe.

https://inflightassistant.com/smoothtrack/

[Cpt Cuckoo]

If the programmer of Smooth Track could port his program to run under Windows using the built in cam on your laptop, problem solved? Maybe.

https://inflightassistant.com/smoothtrack/

 

It's looking like the best option if I can find a way to mount a phone directed at my face in a cradle on the laptop between the top of the keyboard and the bottom of the screen. Just have to keep the phone plugged in to the charger as well.

[Cpt Cuckoo]

My solution was to go hybrid. I use an EDTracker for Yaw and Pitch while using a PlayStation 3 cam and a UTC MK II for X, Y, and Z. The camera used to lose tracking whenever I would look down or too far one direction, with an ED tracker I can be in the next room doing my best Linda Blair impression and still not lose tracking.

 

I use OpenTrack to enable this HYBRID system.

 

Here is where to get those items.

 

EDTracker

http://www.edtracker.co.uk (I could not get this to load at the time of this writing)

 

UTC MK II

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=159647

Contact via email: vgddevices@gmail.com or PM, here on forum.

 

OpenTrack

https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/releases

 

MODIFIED PS 3 CAM

https://delanengineering.com/shop/PS3-Camera-IR-Filter-Removed-p50254011

 

If you want just a camera solution here is a product on Steam. I own it but have not tested it yet.

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/929270/ViewTracker/

 

There is a FREE demo if you are interested,

 

The guy who makes the UTC MKII has quit making them. Said he was too busy with his day-job for the time being. Otherwise I think he makes the most accurate and sturdiest tracker.

[Cpt Cuckoo]

Update here:EDIT: I decided it sucks. It's just not stable enough and I prefer not using it at all to fly with.

 

I have been working with this little program called "AITrack" which is free. The good thing about it is that it does as I was asking for. It uses your built-in camera or an external camera. So, there is no contraption on my head and no cable to plug in. You can see a demo here and find the links to download it with instructions on how to install. It uses OpenTrack and the software AITrack. It was quite simple to download and install.

 

I've spent quite a bit of time mapping in OpenTrack. It's still not perfect and I am not done figuring out what does what and tweaking. But it works on low lighting and with glasses and there is no camera to fall off and nothing on my head.

 

Since I have never used a head tracking device before I have nothing to compare this thing to. I'd be interested to know how you would rate it compared to what you use, if anyone wants to try this thing.

 

AITrack is a 6-Degree of Freedom headtracker designed to work alongside Opentrack for its use in simulators/games.

 

AITrack uses its own tracking pipeline (based on neural networks) to estimate the user's head position with respect to the webcam and then, streams it to Opentrack, which in turn, transmits it to your games.

 

Some videos of people using AITrack

https://github.com/AIRLegend/aitrack/wiki/Videos

 

 

You can start here and get it: https://github.com/AIRLegend/aitrack

 

 

I found it while reading some Russian guy's comments at Steam under ViewTracker He gave ViewTracker a thumbs down and suggested AITrack instead.

The Link at Steam for ViewTracker: https://store.steampowered.com/app/929270/ViewTracker/

 

Good luck!

Edited January 9, 2021 by Cpt Cuckoo

[ZQuickSilverZ]

On 10/17/2020 at 10:17 AM, Cpt Cuckoo said:

 

The guy who makes the UTC MKII has quit making them. Said he was too busy with his day-job for the time being. Otherwise I think he makes the most accurate and sturdiest tracker.

That is too bad. 

[Cpt Cuckoo]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:10 PM, ZQuickSilverZ said:

That is too bad. 

Yeah.....I figured he was quitting. I just bought the head tracker from Grass Monkey. It's good. UTC MkII off-centered the middle light slightly and is the only one like that. 

[Mars Exulte]

I got a metal DelanClip and bent it into the shape I wanted then zip tied it to my headset. Technically, making your own is ridiculously simple, too. It's just three led lights, light wires to connect them, all tied to a light power cord or battery pack. If I wasn't lazy and toolless I'd do that Anything but the TrackClip or whatever it is TrackIR uses, which is a complete PoS

Edited March 5, 2021 by Mars Exulte

[Wolf8312]

I hate track IR as well. Might consider trying 2D again if there was a better solution. I never even liked it much before VR it was just better than not having it. With the Vive tracking system though would it not be a simple matter to construct some sort of alternative (using a baseball cap maybe) tracking device using the VIVE's basestations?