PointCTRL - Finger Mounted VR Controller

[RedeyeStorm]

I would also be interested in your product. I have a Rift so no Lighthouse issue here. How can I order a set?

[FireCat]

you're welcome MilesD, it has been interesting and I'm sure there are plenty more who are just waiting in the background. I'll stop the updates now you have enough info to go on.

 

On a second note, I have a Rift and a Samsung Odessey (WMR.) I use the Odessey in DCS as it is IMO way better than either the Vive or the Rift it's on par with the Vive Pro at less than half the price tag.

 

Being WMR the Odessey does not use any lighthouses or satellites (although it can use the Vive lighthouses) the controllers use blue tooth but I don't use them either in DCS.

 

I am also waiting for delivery of a Pimax 5K plus (maybe a few months away) which also uses lighthouses either it's own or it can use the Vives. Although I can't see there being a problem with the Odessey there may be a problem with the Pimax.

 

If you know anyone out there who could also give them a test it would be useful to know although I know this may be difficult with the Pimax as only a few have been released.

 

Anyway here are a few links to a YouTuber I follow (SweViver) I think gives a good all-round side by side testing comparison between the top VR and WMR headsets for anyone interested in this sort of thing.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ33TPQYw_-c6itr0ReIu-Q/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=7

 

cheers.

[Deano87]

Miles, shame to hear about the issues but good thing you spotted them now before sending them out!

 

I'm guessing you want to keep one version thats compatible with all rather than branch it off into an Oculus version and a Vive version etc. I'm strictly Oculus so if you want to roll out Oculus compatible test units I'm still interested but I understand if you want to get the issues fixed first. Fingers crossed whatever workaround required for it to work with Vive doesn't impact tracking performance too much.

 

D

[Fusedspine33]

I use both Rift and the O+. I am sure you will find a solution for the vive lighthouses.

[MilesD]

Looks like the polarizors are out, anything close to economical will not get into the IR range that we need. Im working on capturing frames only between strobe and laser sweeps of the light house. It will reduce cursor FPS to 60, but it probably wouldn't be noticeably.

 

Edit: Without getting to far into the weeds I believe I have a workable solution. The Vive tower actually strobes every 8ms followed by the laser sweep of either X or Y axis which takes 8ms also. I only need about 1.2 ms exposure for the PointCTRL sensor. My intent is take a frame after each strobe firing. As long as the lighthouses are pointing approximately toward the Vive the exposure will be completed before the laser reaches it. These numbers also put us back up to up to 120 FPS on the mouse. I hope to write some code and add a IR photo-detector to the HMS tonight. I do have to confirm that both lighthouses fire at the same time though. Even if they don't fire concurrently I believe I will still have enough time to capture the frame. @Los, When ever you are free I will come by with another bottle of wine for another testing session.

 

Miles

Edited January 6, 2019 by MilesD

[hansangb]

BTW MilesD, (I may have asked this before) how does and 18Z turn into cranking out a VR mouse? Interesting pivot in your career!

 

Can't wait to place an order. I'm going to transition to Lighthouse when my pimax shows up, so I'm glad you caught the interference. Hopefully, the solution will work with Lighthouse V2 that's coming out.

[HuggyBear]

...how does and 18Z turn into cranking out a VR mouse? ...

 

Someone probably told him he couldn't do it. :)

 

- Bear

[Los]

Even with the interference it was a pretty awesome experience. I have a vr cockpit already, and the point control worked as advertised though it was jumpy in some configurations due to the issues Miles mentions. Flew some low level A4e sorties over San Carlos Bay and was making switch adjustments on the fly maybe 15 seconds before low level drop without an issues.

 

Also same with F/A18c for case I. The point control works very nice on rotary switches. Hold button down, rotate finger!

 

"Originally Posted by hansangb View Post

...how does and 18Z turn into cranking out a VR mouse? ..."

 

Miles has been doing amazing things for as long as I've known him...(decades)

 

Los

[Aries144]

Miles, you're the best man! I can't wait until you're ready for sale, I want this!

[MilesD]

Hey Guys,

Let me know if I am oversharing, but there seems to be interest in following the development of this. The last 24 hours I have been on this Vive issue non stop. I setup up a mock lighthouse that strobed 850nm light every 8 ms. It interfered just like it did on Los's Vive. I was able to integrate a photo-diode to read the flash and was about 50% successful in timing the exposures when the strobe was off.

 

After a few hours analyzing the programmable registers on the sensor I may have a more effective solution that will also benefit Rift users. The short version is, any new sources of IR light are classified and tracked, but not assigned to the mouse cursor, unless certain parameters are satisfied.

 

The first test with my IR strobe simulator had no effect on the cursor. Additionally sometimes in my pit I would catch a ceiling light that was on bright and higher than the cursor and it would take control. That no longer happened on my initial test, I am sure a few issues will pop up, and I need do add some more parameters, but I feel this is on the right track.

 

I forgot I said I would post a few pics of the latest enclosure. Everything fits in there nice now, I just have to pretty it up a bit.

 

Thanks,

 

Miles

[Aries144]

Way to tackle the problem. Quick problem solving too.

[Ratcatcher]

@Miles

Fantastic to hear (and see!) the progress being made. Awesome work Sir!

 

Also great to hear feedback from Loz.:thumbup:

 

This is looking better and better.

[gianlu320]

Miles great Job!!

Please don't stop, and no you are not oversharing...

I think everybody likes to follow your amazing progress

[Deano87]

No such thing as over sharing when it comes to tech stuff like this. Its great to hear and see how things are progressing!

[MA_Goblin]

Great work MilesD :)

[tribundf]

Outstanding work Miles!!

[LuSi_6]

awsome! How could I miss that?

 

But please: update the first post so we don't need to scroll all pages :)

 

Q1: do you sell samples right now?

Q2: do you ship to Europe?

Q3: regarding Vive issues: do you ship the Oculus version anyway?

 

Thx!

[Deano87]

I’m sure miles is busy doing amazing things so I’ll have a quick stab at answering some of the questions. I agree, updating the first post would probably be helpful.

 

1: not yet, soooon

2: should do!

3: not currently.

[Nexus-6]

This is very impressive. I'll probably buy one if he ever gets an online store off the ground.

 

 

In the meantime, I'll be sure to keep an eye on this thread.

[A2597]

Awesome work sir! It's shaping up to be a very nice product!

I'd be curious to see how it functions in X-Plane 11. (My dad flies that more than DCS, but if it works well with X-Planes mouse cursor implementation then I'd wager he'll buy one too)

 

 

Oh, and I'm still interested, but may not be able to be a Day 1 purchase.

(My spending budget isn't that high, and holidays wiped out my reserve, so might take me a couple months to have the funds to purchase)

[rowdgordypiper]

Add me for initial testing

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MilesD]

Hey Guys,

I have been working away on PointCTRL non stop. There just seems to be endless final things to do before production, and I really want to send it out right.

 

I am surprised that I had a working proof of concept device working in a week and here I am 8 months later still refining things for production. Anyway, we get closer everyday. I assembled some production PCBs for fixture design and testing and all went well. I have been focusing on the enclosures the past week and can say I have the final design production files for the FCU's. The HMS enclosures is tomorrows project. It should be much simpler than the FCU's. I have a basic concept that allows for quick changing between various HMD manufactures. After a lot of research and testing 3d printers for production I decided to go that route. The prints in the picture were printed for speed, and I will be applying some post 3d printing processing such as vapor smoothing.

 

Thanks

 

I will reply to the post questions tomorrow, Thanks for picking up my slack Dino,

 

Miles

 

Edit: The protrusions on top are for the mounting straps, I will post some pics tomorrow showing how the system works.

Edited January 13, 2019 by MilesD

[gianlu320]

Fantastic work Miles

 

Did you find a solution for the interferences coming from the vive base stations?

[Kirk66]

Just found this thread - and it is just what I've been dreaming about - I am definitely in on a set of FCU's. Miles, I am impressed!

 

I can see this turning into a simulated laser finger pointer - that would be cool in DCS!

 

Cheers,

 

Vulture

Edited January 14, 2019 by Kirk66
added content

[Kirk66]

List update.

 

A

01/ aaron886

02/ AdrianK

03/ AKA_Clutter

04/ A2597

B

05/ Bankler

06/ Bearfoot

07/ BlacleyCole

08/ Bob_Bushman

C

09/ Cal.Iber

10/ Chic

11/ cmeliak

12/ cordite

13/ crazysundog

14/ C525

D

15/ DayGlow

16/ dburne

17/ DeadEnd

18/ Deano87

19/ defygravity

20/ do.st

21/ Drakeshoot

E

22/ Elnocho3

23/ EntropySG

24/ Exikutioner

F

25/ fargo007

26/ farmertom

27/ FireCat

28/ FoxDelta

29/ Fri13

30/ Fusedspine33

31/ FZG_Immel

G

32/ gianlu320

33/ Gladman

34/ Goblin

35/ Gruman

36/ GVO

H

37/ hakjar

38/ hansangb

39/ heloguy

40/ huzar

I

41/ iffoif

42/ Icebeat

43/ Iku64

J

44/ Jabbers

45/ jnr4817

46/ joca133

47/ Joe_S

48/ jv44bubi

K

49/ kaltokri

50/ Kirin

L

51/ lolof1

52/ Los

53/ lucky-hendrix

M

54/ maducks

55/ malamar

56/ mariner3302

57/ mars

58/ MemphisBelle

59/ MetalGear_Honk

60/ Metro

61/ mr_mojo97

N

62/ neok

63/ nobfunt

O

64/ Oesau

65/ OzWookiee

P

66/ Pac-Man

67/ =Panther=

68/ pgh2atl

69/ Phoenix F

R

70/ ram0506

71/ Ratcatcher

72/ Redeye

73/ redtail

74/ RogueSqdn

75/ rowdgordypiper

76/ rrohde

77/ ruskybeaver

78/ Rymy

79/ R3ddishF0x

S

80/ SageOT

81/ Salsam

82/ schurem

83/ SDsc0rch

84/ Shadoga

85/ Shrike_AU

86/ skunk160

87/ Snacko

88/ Snapp

89/ Snow51th

90/ sparkchaser2010

91/ streakeagle

92/ Sydy

T

93/ TheBamse

94/ Thick8

95/ tibidisdik44

96/ tintifaxl

97/ tribundf

98/ TWC_Alamo

V

99/ Velez

100/ VFRHawk

101/ VirusAM

W

102/ westr

 

if you're not on it post a request.

Firecat, please add me to the list.

 

V/R,

 

Vulture