Troubleshooting my DIY headtracker

[Bahnzo]

Having trouble with the clip I built.

 

Everything seems to work fine with the IR LED's. They are bright and seen easily by the PS3 Eye. But in Opentrack, it seems they have a *very* small range both pitch and yaw. IE: they fade very quickly. So I'm wondering where the issue is.

 

First, these are the LED's I used: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/lumex-opto-components-inc/OED-EL-1L2/67-1001-ND/270797

 

SFH458's are impossible to find in the USA w/o ordering from China, which is a 1.5 month delivery time. These LED's have the same specs, and while they list a 60deg viewing angle, I was told that wasn't correct when you read the datasheet. But they are still then 30deg, which are the same as the SFH's.

 

So what else do I need to look at? I've done a ton of reading, and I'm fairly sure I have things setup correctly in Opentrack, but let me list what I've done and tried.

 

First my camera: PS3 eye. I didn't remove any IR filter, because it already sees IR light just fine. I tried both using it with and without the floppy disk film insert (with appropriate cam settings). They both work and see the LED's fine, but the same problem exists. I get a little better results not using the film insert and just being in a dark room...but not much. I've tried moving the camera around the top of my monitor in an attempt to center the led's in the view, but didn't help much either.

 

Opentrack: I've made sure to input the clip dimensions. I've done the calibration after reading and watching how to do it. In the camera settings, I've set the Threshold in the Point Extraction as low as possible w/o getting artifacts. I lowered the min size down to 1.0. Again, helped a little, but still a very small range of motion.

 

 

That's a brief(ish) description of what I've done so far. Hopefully some folks can chime in and give me some idea of what's wrong and what I can try.

 

I do have another set of LED's: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/on-semiconductor/QED223/QED223-ND/400448 ----which I might use instead of the other ones, but I'm not sure how much difference they could make.

[Thick8]

It’s been awhile (several years) since I made mine.But I had to sand the tips of the LEDs flat for the issue you describe. Took 3 or 4 different grits to first make them flat and then make them clear again.

[Bahnzo]

It’s been awhile (several years) since I made mine.But I had to sand the tips of the LEDs flat for the issue you describe. Took 3 or 4 different grits to first make them flat and then make them clear again.

 

I may eventually try this. I have some files and also some very fine sandpaper, so I'm sure I can do this. But I'd like to be sure I've tried anything else first, before I alter the LED's.

 

 

After doing more reading today, I'm a little worried about the PS3 eye. Like I mentioned, I didn't remove any IR filter (I've read that if your camera can see the IR light, you don't need to. But then I've read the opposite as well). Looking at the camera, I do believe it has the lense type that is very hard to remove the filter.

[Thick8]

I have a pair of PS3eye cameras I was going to use for hand tracking in VR. I broke the lens on one and successfully removed the filter on the other. I also installed a piece of floppy disc. The modded camera worked well so I think yes you will need to mod your camera.

[Bahnzo]

I have a pair of PS3eye cameras I was going to use for hand tracking in VR. I broke the lens on one and successfully removed the filter on the other. I also installed a piece of floppy disc. The modded camera worked well so I think yes you will need to mod your camera.

 

 

Thanks. I did however, just read this: https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/43300-any-tips-on-removing-ir-filter-on-ps3-camera/?do=findComment&comment=733880

 

He states he didn't have to remove it on the type of camera I have, but used a professional camera filter instead. I'm pretty sure that I have the type of PS3 eye that has the almost impossible filter to remove, so I'm not sure what to do here. It seems ordering one online would be hit and miss as to which type of PS3 eye I would get.

 

I've seen them already modified for sale, but they are all overseas for me being in the US, and shipping makes them very expensive.

 

I also wanted to show this:

 

That is the video by the Opentrack author, showing how to calibrate a headtracking clip. One thing I noticed, was that my IR's show only slightly less bright what shows on the video. But if you watch the video, when he turns his head, the IR's don't lose any of their brightness. Mine do...a lot in fact. So I'm wondering why that is and if it's something with the LED's.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Bahnzo

[Bahnzo]

It’s been awhile (several years) since I made mine.But I had to sand the tips of the LEDs flat for the issue you describe. Took 3 or 4 different grits to first make them flat and then make them clear again.

 

Ok, I seem to have gotten it working. I sanded the LED's but not flat. I got the idea in another forum that diffusing the light would make them more visible.

 

What I did was sand the LED's with some sandpaper, but not flat. I do see that mentioned alot, but instead I sanded them lightly all over. This seemed to have the effect of diffusing the light and solved my problem altogether...kinda of.

 

I still need to use them in a dark room, so I ordered a 25mm IR filter which allows 720nm wavelength and above. I've seen people stick them on the front of the PS3 camera for this purpose so I'm hoping that will solve my problem.

 

Pic of my clip. 3D Printed, really makes a difference in constructing something durable.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Bahnzo