What is the Future for Head Tracking Technology

[IADC]

Today I came across a petition that has been setup to request DCS to kindly consider incorporating support for other Head Tracking software and hardware in their 64bit versions of the DCS series currently available and including future series.

Currently we are limited to one choice being Natural points Track iR which has been the forefront in Head Tracking Technology and still is an excellent device with good support. However we are all aware newer technology has started to show its possibilities with systems like face Track Noir.

Currently DSC only supports Natural Point products leaving no room for competition when it comes to bringing new technology to the table. Competition is healthy and it’s a win win situation for everyone especially the flight SIM enthusiasts. Without it old technology is allowed to remain in the arena unchallenged and over priced and we are the only losers.

The petition can be found at http://www.petitiononline.com/Tracking/petition.html

Please take 5 minutes to fill in a few details and give your support. I am not bias to anyone of these available technologies and I am doing this for ME and also those of you who like a little choice and like to see technology kept on the edge.

One small thing to consider; Imagine head tracking with no restraints, no cables, wires and other such things attached to your head. The kinect technology coming soon to the PC supports lip reading and syncing technology, this would remove the need for having to mash the F keys when using radios. The Kinect also provides directional sound recording, it senses your head position and captures sound from in and around your facial position. No more head phones. Guys this is called moving forward and if we sit around waiting for someone to do this who has no urgent reason to do so because they monopolize the market then we are the only losers.

I don't want of these” L” on my forehead…..:thumbup:

[some1]

I think the problem here is about the copyrights. Those "trackir alternatives" mimic trackir devices using reverse engineered (or leaked) Naturalpoint SDK. And when Naturalpoint created the 64 bit SDK and libraries, they used that opportunity to close it for 3rd party "clones".

 

On the other hand, if ED implements a generic way to set 6DOF in the DCS, like the FSX does, everyone could make their devices connect to sim.

[IADC]

Your spot on there Some1..... Its upto ED to manipulate their code so another door is opened....

[swift]

The problem is that Natural Point, once brilliant revolutionary company, is cramping any possible competition by hampering developers to only support NP products. Sort of 'my way or the highway' fashion. It's not about copyrights - reverse engineering or dll steal like some people have made out, it's about hideous monopoly practice that every TIR user should know.

 

Could software developers afford to lose NP support? guess not, de facto standard.

 

As users, what can we do?

[jireland607]

There are many different ways to connect head tracking software to the sim. The only reason the free versions use the TrackIR SDK is because it is all thats available to them. ED did start developing their own interface but, according to a previous thread, NP asked them to stop. We (the DCS community) believe that a condition of having access to the TrackIR interface is that you must not include any other head tracking software. Sucks hey?

 

Check out this thread for some more detail:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=74315

 

 

This subject has been discussed in detail on another thread:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=73665

[sobek]

I think the problem here is about the copyrights. Those "trackir alternatives" mimic trackir devices using reverse engineered (or leaked) Naturalpoint SDK.

 

Well AFAIK that is only partially correct. The only thing that any other tracking solution ever copied was the interface, the part that connects with the game, which is a very simple piece of software. The tracking implementations are all original and NOT reverse engineered. They reverse engineered the interface so that all TrackIR compatible games would also work with, for example, FreeTrack, out of the box. FreeTrack has long had it's own interface that does not contain any NP IP, the problem is that it seems that if developers implement such an interface, NP pulls their support and also the rights for the game to support TrackIR.

Edited May 26, 2011 by sobek

[Wolf Rider]

 

~ One small thing to consider; Imagine head tracking with no restraints, no cables, wires and other such things attached to your head. The kinect technology coming soon to the PC supports lip reading and syncing technology, this would remove the need for having to mash the F keys when using radios. The Kinect also provides directional sound recording, it senses your head position and captures sound from in and around your facial position. No more head phones. Guys this is called moving forward ~

 

 

yes... voice control has been mooted

[some1]

Well AFAIK that is only partially correct. The only thing that any other tracking solution ever copied was the interface, the part that connects with the game, which is a very simple piece of software.

 

Yes, that's what I've been talking, sorry for the meaningless 'SDK' term. However, it still is proprietary interface, and NP has the rights to close it for competitors.

 

But forcing developers to support only Naturalpoint interface is a different story. Sad, but it is really the law of the strongest, and wether NP or the game developer dictates terms. In Microsoft FSX you simply have function in SDK that sets 6DOF, which can even be called from a remote PC. They don't use trackir SDK, it's Naturalpoint who has to use FSX SDK.

Unfortunately, ED ain't Microsoft.

Edited May 26, 2011 by some1