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Rotational Data Shoulder Harness

sbnewsom
Honored Guest
Haven't gotten by Rift yet, but today on my way to work I was thinking about separation of directional head movement and body direction. Like I can imagine a scenario where the player is in a space suit. I think the best part of the immersion is the ability to look around the helmet and suit. That can be done without pretty jarring controls. So I thought "why not create a cheap hardness with an accelerometer attached to it?". With that, your body can be facing one direction and your head another. So if you move forward with a control, it won't move in the direction your facing, but in the direction your body is.

I brought this up at work and my friend said i'm over thinking the need for it. Am I wrong?

Such a product could essentially be wireless and utilize Bluetooth technology. Also I had an idea for a tier 2 version with a waist extension, so you have two degrees of bodily movement.

Ultimately what I was thinking was the game Journeyman Project: Buried in time. The best part of the game besides the game itself was the HUD or Bio-suit. So I could imagine the need to look around the interior of the head space.

Anyways, whats your opinion? Yay or Nay?
-Stuart Bradley Newsom HS-51XXXXX Mar 21, 2014 01:09 AM PDT DELIVERED Portfolio: http://sbnewsom.com Facebook: Click Here
6 REPLIES 6

msat
Honored Guest
I do think an additional sensor would be beneficial, though it would need to at least include a magnetometer, but might as well throw in a gyro as well - which essentially makes it the same device found inside the Rift. Also, it could be a simple strap that you wrap around your chest, no need for it to be a shoulder harness. But you're spot on about its use - decoupling the head from the body. Also has the added benefit of being able to detect lean, so it could be used for quasi-positional tracking.

sbnewsom
Honored Guest
Definitely some good ideas, though I think a magnetometer isn't all that important as the only values needed for now is the rotational value. Just a point of reference for the game to know which direction the player is facing and not the value of the players head.

For now, i'm going to try out the Razer Hydra and see if I can capture the same feeling i'm trying to accomplish. For added appeal I'm thinking of creating a neck cushion to restrict moving your head to far down, as if you are wearing a Futuristic Suit. In real-life you can't look directly down with a helmet on.

I'll see what I can do. Still waiting for my rift.
-Stuart Bradley Newsom HS-51XXXXX Mar 21, 2014 01:09 AM PDT DELIVERED Portfolio: http://sbnewsom.com Facebook: Click Here

gray
Honored Guest
You may find this interesting, he's using a Hillcrest tracker for the body;

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=17710

niall
Honored Guest
"sbnewsom" wrote:
your body can be facing one direction and your head another. So if you move forward with a control, it won't move in the direction your facing, but in the direction your body is.


I'd definitely like to see a body orientation sensor, and to be able to move relative to my body not my head orientation.

For me it would be below head, arm and leg sensors (in terms of priority) but definitely needed for the fullest sense of immersion possible with VR.

msat
Honored Guest
"sbnewsom" wrote:
Definitely some good ideas, though I think a magnetometer isn't all that important as the only values needed for now is the rotational value. Just a point of reference for the game to know which direction the player is facing and not the value of the players head.


A magnetometer and an accelerometer can give you full orientation data that doesn't drift - which is absolutely necessary if you want a stable way to decouple head orientation from the torso.

sbnewsom
Honored Guest
Yesterday I read up on the purpose of the magnetometer and its absolutely important purpose. I think its definitely a must if I get around to do this.
-Stuart Bradley Newsom HS-51XXXXX Mar 21, 2014 01:09 AM PDT DELIVERED Portfolio: http://sbnewsom.com Facebook: Click Here