Headtracking information
Posted: January 10th, 2019, 3:37 pm
A little information about headtracking.
Folks! There's a lot of solutions for headtracking out there. I'm NOT going to try and do the
documentation about all of them myself. Instead I've compiled a long list of valuable links
I have visited myself during the years I've used headtracking. Enjoy folks!
At the moment I use the following setup myself. As input I use an Aruco pattern printed on paper
and then mounted on a cardboard. That is then mounted on a regular cap in an angle of approx. 20
degrees.
I then have a Sony PS3Eye camera mounted at the top of my central monitor, who's output in turn
are read by the opentrack sofware. It analyzes the Aruco pattern for rotational and translational
movements and then outputs using the Fretrack 2.0 protocol, actually a free version of TrackIR's
proprietary protocol, to ETS2 or ATS, which has support for that protocol. If you already have a
webcam, this solution will cost you NOTHING, except some work. If you haven't got a webcam, I can
really recommend the Sony PS3Eye one. Both TrackHat and DelanClip sell them with it's infrared
filter removed, done for those that use infrared LEDs as input to the system. It's a cheap but fast
webcam very often recommended for headtracking. This is how it looks for me! I can keep both
my hands on the wheel! :D
I can tell you this, my own solution, with the Aruco pattern and opentrack plus webcamera, is pretty
light sensitive. BUT, the gadgets from DelanClip and Trackhat, based on infrared LEDs combined with
a PS3Eye camera from DelanClip, where they have taken away the infrared filter and instead mounted
a daylight filter in it, is for me the best solution there is. Due to the daylight filter it is pretty insensitive
to environment light! Check it out! Both of them also have wireless solutions!
One more thing I want to point out. The solutions based on smartphones and also the Edtracker ONLY
gives you a 3DOF solution, meaning that only rotational movements are produced, yaw, pitch and roll
motions.
Links:
1. TrackIR: https://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
No webcam needed.
2. Tobii Eye Tracker: https://www.tobii.com/
No webcam needed.
(NOTE: You don't need the eye tracking function, so choose device with headtracking support!)
3. TrackHat: https://trackhat.org/
4. DelanClip: https://delanengineering.com/
5. Edtracker: http://www.edtracker.org.uk/
No webcam needed.
(NOTE: Only 3DOF, possible pseudo 6DOF)
6. Alternate tracking input methods:
a) Aruco pattern: https://docs.opencv.org/3.1.0/d5/dae/tu ... ction.html
https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/ ... co-tracker
b) Smartphone: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/ ... adtracking
No webcam needed.
c) Facetracking: https://visagetechnologies.com/
http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/Tr ... Visage.htm
7. Free software:
a) opentrack: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/releases
Supports many different types of tracking inputs and outputs.
b) FaceTrackNoIR: http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/home/default.htm
Also support many different tracking schemes. NOT free anymore!
c) Edtracker: Delivered with own special software, which is also capable of cooperating with
opentrack to gain pseudo 6DOF.
d) TrackHat: You'll get with a purchase a special variant of opentrack. DON'T use it, instead use
the real opentrack!
e) If you have a Nvidia RTX2060 or better RTX card, you can get totally free facetracking from Nvidia itself.
You only need a webcam. Link to it here: https://developer.nvidia.com/rtx-broadc ... et-started
f) A similar open source solution, but which isn't that new, is to be found here: https://github.com/uricamic/clandmark
Let's see who picks that up fastest. My tips is opentrack! [New info 25th of May 2020]
8. Information guides:
a) Comprehensive guide about opentrack, mostly oriented towards infrared LED clips and caps, but
also have a lot of useful information about headtracking in general.
https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/34 ... ent-580169
b) The opentrack Wiki: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/wiki
c) The FaceTrackNoIR Wiki: https://sourceforge.net/p/facetracknoir/wiki/Home/
9. You will find some very interesting guidance to solve the problem we now have with the possibility to open the truck windows [New info 2nd of June 2020]
and using headtracking, as SCS has only secretly taken care of the case of using the mouse as head movement. Check this post:
viewtopic.php?p=19250#p19250
Folks! There's a lot of solutions for headtracking out there. I'm NOT going to try and do the
documentation about all of them myself. Instead I've compiled a long list of valuable links
I have visited myself during the years I've used headtracking. Enjoy folks!
At the moment I use the following setup myself. As input I use an Aruco pattern printed on paper
and then mounted on a cardboard. That is then mounted on a regular cap in an angle of approx. 20
degrees.
I then have a Sony PS3Eye camera mounted at the top of my central monitor, who's output in turn
are read by the opentrack sofware. It analyzes the Aruco pattern for rotational and translational
movements and then outputs using the Fretrack 2.0 protocol, actually a free version of TrackIR's
proprietary protocol, to ETS2 or ATS, which has support for that protocol. If you already have a
webcam, this solution will cost you NOTHING, except some work. If you haven't got a webcam, I can
really recommend the Sony PS3Eye one. Both TrackHat and DelanClip sell them with it's infrared
filter removed, done for those that use infrared LEDs as input to the system. It's a cheap but fast
webcam very often recommended for headtracking. This is how it looks for me! I can keep both
my hands on the wheel! :D
I can tell you this, my own solution, with the Aruco pattern and opentrack plus webcamera, is pretty
light sensitive. BUT, the gadgets from DelanClip and Trackhat, based on infrared LEDs combined with
a PS3Eye camera from DelanClip, where they have taken away the infrared filter and instead mounted
a daylight filter in it, is for me the best solution there is. Due to the daylight filter it is pretty insensitive
to environment light! Check it out! Both of them also have wireless solutions!
One more thing I want to point out. The solutions based on smartphones and also the Edtracker ONLY
gives you a 3DOF solution, meaning that only rotational movements are produced, yaw, pitch and roll
motions.
Links:
1. TrackIR: https://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
No webcam needed.
2. Tobii Eye Tracker: https://www.tobii.com/
No webcam needed.
(NOTE: You don't need the eye tracking function, so choose device with headtracking support!)
3. TrackHat: https://trackhat.org/
4. DelanClip: https://delanengineering.com/
5. Edtracker: http://www.edtracker.org.uk/
No webcam needed.
(NOTE: Only 3DOF, possible pseudo 6DOF)
6. Alternate tracking input methods:
a) Aruco pattern: https://docs.opencv.org/3.1.0/d5/dae/tu ... ction.html
https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/ ... co-tracker
b) Smartphone: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/ ... adtracking
No webcam needed.
c) Facetracking: https://visagetechnologies.com/
http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/Tr ... Visage.htm
7. Free software:
a) opentrack: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/releases
Supports many different types of tracking inputs and outputs.
b) FaceTrackNoIR: http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/home/default.htm
Also support many different tracking schemes. NOT free anymore!
c) Edtracker: Delivered with own special software, which is also capable of cooperating with
opentrack to gain pseudo 6DOF.
d) TrackHat: You'll get with a purchase a special variant of opentrack. DON'T use it, instead use
the real opentrack!
e) If you have a Nvidia RTX2060 or better RTX card, you can get totally free facetracking from Nvidia itself.
You only need a webcam. Link to it here: https://developer.nvidia.com/rtx-broadc ... et-started
f) A similar open source solution, but which isn't that new, is to be found here: https://github.com/uricamic/clandmark
Let's see who picks that up fastest. My tips is opentrack! [New info 25th of May 2020]
8. Information guides:
a) Comprehensive guide about opentrack, mostly oriented towards infrared LED clips and caps, but
also have a lot of useful information about headtracking in general.
https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/34 ... ent-580169
b) The opentrack Wiki: https://github.com/opentrack/opentrack/wiki
c) The FaceTrackNoIR Wiki: https://sourceforge.net/p/facetracknoir/wiki/Home/
9. You will find some very interesting guidance to solve the problem we now have with the possibility to open the truck windows [New info 2nd of June 2020]
and using headtracking, as SCS has only secretly taken care of the case of using the mouse as head movement. Check this post:
viewtopic.php?p=19250#p19250