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DIY "VR" headset

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DIY "VR" headset

Postby montagdude » Tue Jan 28, 2020 6:33 am

Hi guys,

I just thought I would share a little project with you all. I had been playing with head tracking using opentrack (https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack), and it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a monitor mounted to my head so that I didn't have to try to look sideways at the screen while turning my head away from it. This led me to hacking together a headset that is almost like VR. Components:


I originally wanted to use the anaglyph mode with some 3D glasses to get a 3D effect, but so far I haven't had much luck matching the colors well enough, so I end up with a lot of distracting ghost images and wrong colors. It's still pretty fun without the 3D effect anyway. Here are a few pictures. The funny symbol on the top is an ArUco marker used for head tracking. I am using the PS3 Eye camera for this job, which works really well.

Image
Image
Image

The total length of the housing is 6 inches, and the lens is 3.5 inches from the screen. A magnifying lens is required, because otherwise you will be staring at a tiny screen from a pretty short distance, which causes a lot of eye strain. The fresnel lens is convenient because it is flat, light, and easy to cut, but the downside is that it's not as clear as a regular magnifying lens. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a suitable one of those.
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Re: DIY "VR" headset

Postby D-ECHO » Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:12 am

Really cool project!
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Re: DIY "VR" headset

Postby montagdude » Wed Jan 29, 2020 6:19 am

Thanks! It's a lot of fun flying this way. I just completed the last leg of my flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle in the Cessna 182 (been doing about an hour at a time; the last leg was from Cle Elum to Renton). Being able to look around naturally makes the experience much more immersive and enjoyable.

I'm still thinking about trying to get the 3D view to work. I may try ordering a couple of those Google cardboard lenses (they are cheap) and see if I can get them to work with the horizontal split stereoscopic mode. I'm not sure if it will work, though, because the screen might be too big for them.
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Re: DIY "VR" headset

Postby mickc » Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:49 pm

Greetings!

Just found your post and was wondering if you had any success with 3D, presumably using vertical split screen.

I've been using multi-computer/multi-screen (Linux and Synergy) for some time but, since being introduced to VR on a Playstation 5, I think VR is definitely the way to go now. (X-plane is a possible option but I still feel a loyalty to Flightgear.)

I'm keen to learn from your experiences with motion control.

Also, love the cycle helmet idea - I'm sure there's an old one in the garage...

Best wishes
Mick
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Re: DIY "VR" headset

Postby montagdude » Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:07 am

Hi,

I never had much luck with 3D. I attempted to use the anaglyphic mode, but OSG's way of rendering cyan and red never worked right with any glasses I tried - there was a lot of ghosting. The other methods require a specialized screen and/or goggles. To be honest, I basically stopped using the headset because it was too heavy and low res. I find using a regular monitor with head tracking to be more enjoyable despite the fact that I have to turn my head sideways to look to the extreme left or right. But it could definitely be done lighter and better, if you are willing to spend the money on a better screen and optics.

Dan
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