Anyone using a webcam for head tracking, I'm setting it up but have an issue?

[Ripp_]

I'm trying to set up headtracking using a PS3 Eye camera as per (

)

Should be simple enough:

Install PS3 Eye Driver
Install AITrack software
Install Opentrack software

And adjust the very simple settings.

I did that but just got a black screen initially so also installed a different PS3 Eye Camera driver (PS3 Eyee driver 5.3.0.0341 Emuline), rebooted the PC opened up the CL-Eye Test app that Emuline installed and the camera works fine in that app (so the camera hardware is fine) but I'm still getting a black screen in AITrack and nothing in Opentrack, any ideas?

 

[Ripp_]

NVM, all working now as intended, not sure how but a couple of reboots and all seems ok. Just tried it in AC and it was butter smooth, just tweaking the curves a little and i'll then have to learn how to drive with it. It's super cool when paired with a 21:9 monitor because you can just look over at the mirrors or out of the side windows or whatever. I slowed the pitch right down so it hardly moves up and down and disabled the Z axis (lean closer to monitor and it zooms in) so essenially I can look left and right at a decent speed with the Yaw and I get a little bit of mvement up and down with the Pitch so I can look up at the mirror or down at the dash if they aren't already in view.

 

[Ripp_]

Ok I've not quite nailed it yet. It was working fine but after a reboot it's back to black screen, probably something to do with the order the various softwares are opened or configured or something so I'll try and figure that out. In the meantime if anyone else uses a similar setup and may know what my issue is I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Michael Krone]

So I used to use these cameras for head/face tracking in IL-2. I seem to remember that I needed a custom made driver that was hard to find at that time (2012ish maybe?)

I know you had to install the drivers THEN plug in the camera or you would get a black screen.

I also used facetracknoir.

Now that im thinking about it, I used the ps2 eye. I could never get the ps3 version to work properly.

If you had the camera plugged in while you restarted the PC, that may be the problem.

 

[Ripp_]

So I used to use these cameras for head/face tracking in IL-2. I seem to remember that I needed a custom made driver that was hard to find at that time (2012ish maybe?)

I know you had to install the drivers THEN plug in the camera or you would get a black screen.

I also used facetracknoir.

Thanks, did you have to unplug and then plug the camera back in every time you wanted to use it? I have it all working, just can't seem to get it to work every time without some kind of random sequence of starting and stopping software, unplugging the camera and rebooting the PC which I haven't quite figured out yet.

 

[Michael Krone]

Thanks, did you have to unplug and then plug the camera back in every time you wanted to use it? I have it all working, just can't seem to get it to work every time without some kind of random sequence of starting and stopping software, unplugging the camera and rebooting the PC which I haven't quite figured out yet.

Yea the camera had to be unplugged until a message popped up saying to plug it in. Again tho, this was facetracknoir.

 

[Ripp_]

Yea the camera had to be unplugged until a message popped up saying to plug it in. Again tho, this was facetracknoir.

Hmm, I'll have to keep experimenting then on the order things are done.

 

[MarkModdy]

I have used my iPhone and an app that works really well… if interested I can give more details for you.

The iPhone app is called SmoothTrack.

Good thing about this set up is that that the phone is off to one side too….

 

[Ripp_]

I have used my iPhone and an app that works really well… if interested I can give more details for you.

Good thing about this set up is that that the phone is off to one side too…

I'll have a play around with the PS3 camera a bit more first because it works really well and is super smooth but if I can't figure out how to make it work after a reboot then I might well PM you about an alternative.

 

[MarkModdy]

I'll have a play around with the PS3 camera a bit more first because it works really well and is super smooth but if I can't figure out how to make it work after a reboot then I might well PM you about an alternative.

Yes no worries matey… it’s fun playing around with this stuff anyways

 

[Ripp_]

Yes no worries matey… it’s fun playing around with this stuff anyways

Yeah definitely!

 

[Ripp_]

Weirdly it all just worked today when I booted the PC up, didn't have to unplug the camera or anything. Spent a good amount of time tweaking the curves and settings so it feels very smooth natural and linear with no jittering or stuttering so there's no weird acceleration or anything but... 2 days in a row after driving I definitely feel a tiny bit weird, almost like travel sick but not quite the same or as bad so I'm not sure if head tracking is for me.

I like the idea of being able to check mirrors and side windows but more often than not doing so can make me drift across the track a little so probably does me more harm than good. I use a single 34" 21:9 monitor and the amazing CarRadar app and have that tweaked to perfection so I actually get all the information I need from that anyway.

Maybe triple screens would be the answer for me but I have my gaming area setup on desk so I can also play other games. Don't judge me too hard though because I have a custom made mount for my CSL DD, my monitor is on an arm so it can be positioned right by the wheelbase while racing, my pedals are custom mounted high up under the desk so they are in a rig style position relative to my gaming chairs position, the chair also has the wheels removed so it doesn't move under braking so my 'desk' setup is actually pretty close to rig positioning. Being able to switch the whole setup from a normal gaming PC setup to a driving sim in less than 20 seconds suits me just fine currently. The alternative would be setting up a rig which would incur the cost of the rig, 3 monitors and another high spec PC.

Maybe a single super ultrawide monitor would be the answer for me but that's another story. Plus I'm not sure that would translate well for other style games. More thinking required.

Anyway the whole beauty of the head tracking setup that cost me just £1 (GBP) for the camera and the free software let me try it all out without spending £170 or whatever on TrackIR or Delanclip or whatever. Honestly though after trying this setup I can't see how TrackIR would actually be better, this setup technically seems to work perfectly, I'm just not sure it's for me.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Honestly though after trying this setup I can't see how TrackIR would actually be better, this setup technically seems to work perfectly, I'm just not sure it's for me.

I have tried and discarded some 3rd party solutions due to complexity of setup and unreliable tracking. With TrackIR5 it was pain free perfect out of the box experience with high precision and lag free tracking under any lighting conditions with TrackClip Pro.
Granted it cost, but worth it IMO comparing to setup struggle and somewhat spotty tracking.

 

[Ripp_]

I have tried and discarded some 3rd party solutions due to complexity of setup and unreliable tracking. With TrackIR5 it was pain free perfect out of the box experience with high precision and lag free tracking under any lighting conditions with TrackClip Pro.
Granted it cost, but worth it IMO comparing to setup struggle and somewhat spotty tracking.

The free setup worked perfectly fine in complete darkness and was super smooth and lag free as far as I could tell, just not sure I get on with head tracking in general. In complete darkness the ambient light coming from the monitor was enough for the camera to work fine after I turned up it's brightness gain. I was really surprised at how well it all worked, to the point where I can't really see how TrackIR would be any better.

Plus the free setup cost just £1 for the hardware, TrackIR is about £170 and I can't see it being 170x better. For me at least being able to try it out for almost zero cost has allowed me to rule it out as the way forward without having to spend £170.

I currently have a 3090 GPU so maybe that would be enough to run triple 1440p monitors, but I like to run all max graphics settings on all games so maybe it might not be up to the job, maybe that'll be my next experiment.