Wii head-tracking

[Bad Pilot 0]

Has anyone (dis)proven that Wiimotes can be used with LED headsets to give results like FreeTrack or TrackIR?

[Bad Pilot 0]

Nobody's replied so I thought I'd give some more info for those who didn't know this about Wii remote controls.

Rather than being like your TV remote, they are actually infra-red cameras. The sensor bar has a pair of infra-red LEDs and the Wiimote records movement relative to them.

I think the Wiimote in turn communicates with the Wii console via Bluetooth. That's how the motion sensing works.

On a PC, you can turn that system backwards to make a head-tracking solution. Solutions like TrackIR and FreeTrack use webcams; this solution uses the Wiimote (connected to the PC via a bluetooth dongle). The Wiimote can track 4 infra-red light sources, and is ideal for head-tracking. I've seen 6DoF software demoed but don't know of anything which is guaranteed to work with ArmA.

[telejunky 0]

Hell yeah i am using a wii mote with a self build 3 point usb powered led array :) Works fine but sometimes ArmA seems to get hiccups with some time

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=71837&highlight=hiccup

Also i only tried insurgency a few times, but it seems to be only in ArmA and it is only my system. A friend of mine doesn't have this problem... so maybe a clean windows reinstall should help

[Dr.Pulp 0]

my Track Clip Pro will arrive today. I am going to use it with Wiimote and freetrack...tomorrow i can give you more details how it works.

only tried it with a candle...but thats not really a good solution *fg*

[Bad Pilot 0]

Hey nice to hear about this stuff.

It so happens that it's my birthday today and my boss brought in a things he made at home last night... 3 red LEDs wired up ready to mount on my lovely 5.1 headphones. I can't solder to save my life so I'm well pleased.

telejunky, I'll look at your other thread when I have more time. Hopefully get you sorted out!

[Dr.Pulp 0]

happy birthday! :)

tried Wiimote + Freetrack + Track Clip Pro yesterday...works poorly!

But it should work perfectly. I read at the Free-Track forum, that somebody got the exact same problem and he got it fixed by another bluetooth device!

will try that today...so sit back and relax for more feedback to come.

i also borrowed a original trackir 4 pro cam from a friend to do some tests freetrack vs trackir *g*

[Bad Pilot 0]

cheers :)

I still haven't done mine due to continuing celebrating and mission-editing obligations. I have a couple of bluetooth adaptors to try it with, so here's hoping!

[mr.g-c 6]

At least here it seems to work really good...

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Even though i read that the MS-FS is a bit slow in responsiveness with head-tracking devices....

[bionic 10]

Here is a short ArmA testflight video i made using Freetrack v2.2 an my Wii Remote Setup.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvyFirDG8zI&hl=de&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvyFirDG8zI&hl=de&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[bravo 6 0]

At least here it seems to work really good...

Actually we don't know the response comparing to the head movement like it is shown in the 2nd video, there for I wouldn't assume anything.

Even though i read that the MS-FS is a bit slow in responsiveness with head-tracking devices

@mr.g-c, i can tell you that in the 2nd video the response is terrible comparing to the real 'TackIr 4 + Clip' capability. I know because i have 1 and tried it with F. Simulator 2004, F. Simulator X, Lock On..

I don't have that problem while using my TrackIr 4 + Clip.

If you want my opinion the response we see in the 2nd video is not very good.

I'm sure the author took a lot of hope, time and dedication to show us the experience. I respect it, but from what i know and experienced with a real TrackIr + Clip device i would never ever use that Wii head-tracking replacing the TrackIr + Clip device.

I don't want to be negative about this but if people intend to use 'Wii head-tracking' to completely replace 'TrackIr + clip', like we see in the 2nd posted video, people are going to lose response quality and, for me, its the most important feature about these devices.

TrackIr might not be completely cheap or free but once you have it, you won't look back.

[PhilippRauch 0]

Please post a video of your 3 candle Freetrack setup Dr.Pulp !

:D

[mr.g-c 6]

I will build also one with the PS3 Eye (120 FPS) Camera.

I read a lot of positive remarks, also with the freetrack+Wii-Remote combo (like you can see in Bionics Video).

@Bravo6: Yes now after i saw a lot of other Wii-Remote+Freetrack Videos, the vids i posted before are really rather poor.

[bionic 10]

TrackIr might not be completely cheap or free but once you have it, you won't look back.

I will get my TIR 5 hopefully next week and i will compare both but the drawback of TIR is the price. Not everyone is able or willing to buy a device for that price and for those who still want to use Headtracking they can built one their self for less than 50€. If you compare the 50€ with the 169€ to 189€ the TIR 5 will cost, Freetrack is definitely worth a try.

Its like saying you can´t watch a film on a 32" 500€ TV you need a 32" screen for 1600€. In my opinion TrackIR is overpriced i see it more in the 80-100€ price range.

[mr.g-c 6]

I think in this vid you can see that the Freetrack is working rather quick compared to the other video i posted...

1BEmEP-vei8

For me this is fully enough... lets see how the 20FPS more from the PS3 Eye will work.

[PhilippRauch 0]

I mean with the new 'shakey' cam, i myself wouldnt notice any lesser reaction of that headtracking thing... i am also addicted to buying last generation stuff, so i pay less... Now with the new TrackIR5 out i bet there will be many good deals on TrackIR4 around ..

But i am going Freetrack anyway, asap my solderiron is good again ;P

[bravo 6 0]

Yes that video look better.

Though have you noticed the size of the Wii-Remote?

If you have a TFT screen how will you do it?

[mr.g-c 6]

Though have you noticed the size of the Wii-Remote?

If you have a TFT screen how will you do it?

Hi, i myself will give the PS3 Eye a try, as written before... it has double the WiiMote Resolution at 120FPS, better angle, has USB instead of Bluetooth and thus also gets its energy from USB.

On top you can use it as a pretty awesome Webcam anytime and you can place it in front on the bottom of your screen.

Price is same here in germany(or even less than WiiMote for which you need a Bluetooth dongle).

[bionic 10]

Yes that video look better.

Though have you noticed the size of the Wii-Remote?

If you have a TFT screen how will you do it?

Nothing easier than that i used a clip of an old webcam

[bravo 6 0]

ah, don't forget you need batteries as well hihi :D

[bionic 10]

ah, don't forget you need batteries as well hihi :D

lol sure but can the Track IR be wireless:D also i still could mod the Wii Remote to use a powersupply but since i also use it for other things than Headtracking i leave it that way.

Edited May 4, 2009 by bionic

[mr.g-c 6]

Reading in FreeTrack and DCS Black-Shark forums what kind of bad way the Track-IR manufacturer is going (keyword: encryption system, by using their monopole 6DOF status), its even more from a morale point of view (anyone has still some morals in this world?) better to go with the open-source Free-Track.

Read here: http://forum.free-track.net/index.php?showtopic=1255

I hope Arma2 was not forced to go with the same encryption system, virtually blocking-out the people using a free and open-source solution!

This would be a shame!

Edited May 4, 2009 by mr.g-c
removed a rant :p

[bionic 10]

Reading in FreeTrack and DCS Black-Shark forums what kind of a f*cker Track-IR manufacturer is (keyword: "illegal" encryption system, by using their monopole 6DOF status), its even more from a morale point of view (anyone has still some morals in this world?) better to go with the open-source Free-Track.

Read here: http://forum.free-track.net/index.php?showtopic=1255

I hope Arma2 was not forced to go with the same lame encryption system, vitually illegal blocking-out the people using a free and open-source solution!

This would be a real shame!

:eek:

Outsch i don´t think this will be good for the german market if so i can already smell lawsuits incoming. I hope BIS jumped not on this track would be nice if a DEV could shed a light on this, Maruk are you there?

So this makes me think about not to buy TrackIR i haven´t payed it yet and if this is true i cancel my order!

[mr.g-c 6]

Yes that is really bad, i can't put it in words... its so funny, then DCS wanted to support natively 6DOF for Freetrack users by delivering a SDK pack, but NaturalPoint complained about it and said like "we only accept it if the support for Free-track users will be limited to 3DOF only"....

Back to the cameras:

The PS3 Eye seems to be the optimal device... its makes stunning 128FPS and is after removing IR-Filter, stunningly sensitive to IR-sources that you could almost use it as a FLIR device :p

http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/2953/P30/#22847

I'll try that certainly in future, if we wont get excluded as free-track users in Arma2.

Edited May 5, 2009 by mr.g-c

[Dr.Pulp 0]

I will get insane with bluetooth device installation! For some mysterious reason its not working really got for me! it seems the wiimote can only "see" the track clip pro at a maximum of about 30 cm! Thats way to close.

A friend of me got it working...maybe its my bluetooth device (the second one i bought).

I will try the exact same bluetooth drivers like my friend uses and see what happens.

if that won't do it, i will try the same BT dongle my friend uses.

@PhilippRauch: it's not me on these pics...but thats what a candle tracking device is gonna look like *g* http://forum.free-track.net/index.php?showtopic=1694

[mr.g-c 6]

Hey Dr.Pulp, yes Bluetooth can sometimes be a pain in the a*s, i remember this quite often from laptop re-installations or from cheaper 10 buck dongles which friends of mine bought in super-markets (Ald*, Lid*, etc.) to have connection to their mobile phone.

The best thing is to make sure that you follow the steps exactly like written by the manufacturer, because sometimes you must install the drivers before first plug-in of the dongle, sometimes after it and this is important to follow.

Also you can try to make sure to DL the latest Drivers from the manufacturer.

BTT:

I found a nice do-it-yourself IR-Clip guide here, if you are interested:

http://geocities.com/falstar2012/