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Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:48 am
by AllOfTheApples!
I'm not very good at software, but one thing I can do is build things.
Building and problem solving have always been fun for me.
Recently when I read that the kinect is what makes Virtuix's rig work
I decided that I wanted to build one myself. The hard part would be making it tick.
How hard would it be to get it working in a game like Skyrim (as virtuix did.)
If I pull this off I would love to share my designs with everyone. Working at a home depot
definitely has perks in having knowledge of materials.
THANKS :D

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 7:11 am
by OutatimeTV
There are already threads about Omni here.

What's the use of this thread here NOW ?

You said: "IF I pull this off..."

Yeah, IF the world will end tomorrow...

Or maybe I will invent a flying car in three years. Better start a thread NOW to post some ideas I might have... :roll:

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:39 am
by AllOfTheApples!
Sorry, I did look for another thread with no avail; I mustn't have looked hard enough.
What's wrong with IF I pull this off? I have an idea to build something interesting and want to know if the software side of it is a pipe dream. I want to make sure it's realistic before I spend time and money just to find that I can't get my Kinect to operate how I want it to.
I'm new here, so please, give me a break. I just really want to contribute to the VR revolution and I thought this board would be a great place to get my ball rolling. Next time, I won't post.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:39 am
by OutatimeTV
Just wait for the release of the real Omni, get the Kinect code and try it with your "planned" version.

What I meant was about your post. At the moment it's not a great value. When you have something to show or share: That's fine. Show your build when it's ready or you have started.

I do have a lot of project ideas too. Some of them I might work on and if they came out good enough I might post them somewhere. :)

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:36 pm
by android78
To each their own. I love build threads so have no problem with another thread for someone's project. Especially since I don't believe we have the ideal consumer solution for this yet I would love to see what others come up with and how well it works. Let us know how your designs go.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2013 7:35 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
So, I've spent about $200 on V1. I could probably get the price down for V2, though. :) If there's interest in emulation, I can post a price list with what I have and approximates for my alternative\ideal solutions.
I'll probably be posting pictures of the progress on friday. When (\if)I post pictures I'll run through my problems and possible solutions\alternatives.
It's definitely inspired by Virtuix's rig and some older ones I've seen (dish/harness obviously most efficient set up.)
Definitely will look rough and very home-brew. I don't really care how it looks, though;
I just want it to have the right feels. ;)

I'll probably buy Virtuix's rig when it's released, it looks fantastic.
My problem is that I both feel very impatient and my day job has me feeling really stale :?
Wish me luck!

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:33 am
by JanVR
Good luck! Looking forward to you input.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:07 am
by AllOfTheApples!
Delays were to be expected, still making good progress, though!
"Almost there... Almost there!"
My schedule will continue to be busy this week, but I expect V1 to be completed this week.
I had to scrap some of what I had because I had made a lazy compromise that I shortly after regretted.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 6:22 pm
by colocolo
i am curious how your invention will look like.
sounds promising. :D

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 4:57 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
HOLY S#!T! Very busy week, so I apologize for the tardiness. Girlfriend, job, music projects, friends, and.. this.
Tomorrow, being my day off, I will hopefully have the dish completed, but I thought I'd at least post something to open it up to constructive criticism/to let you know i'm not just flapping my lips.

I said before that it will look rough, I stand by it, but I'm very pleased with the progress so far (minus the delays.)

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 7:29 pm
by TheLookingGlass
AllOfTheApples! wrote:HOLY S#!T! Very busy week, so I apologize for the tardiness. Girlfriend, job, music projects, friends, and.. this.
Tomorrow, being my day off, I will hopefully have the dish completed, but I thought I'd at least post something to open it up to constructive criticism/to let you know i'm not just flapping my lips.

I said before that it will look rough, I stand by it, but I'm very pleased with the progress so far (minus the delays.)
Nice! You're actually building something.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 4:16 am
by colocolo
interesting. Looks a bit like the Omni. i guess the gait mechanism will be another.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:25 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
TADA! It's (almost) done!
Still some kinks to iron, but the build is at least done.
Now for the fun part: figuring out how the f*** I can use it as input for a game.
It's not hard to jump or to crouch and it's decently quiet. I can sprint no problem, the only problem I have is that the "Large" shoe covers aren't big enough for my feet. My heel digs in a little if I walk, which sucks, but running or jogging is no problem. :D

At this point I would almost pay someone to make me a simple (walking is forward [no strafing necessary], jump is jump, crouch is crouch) driver, but I fear it's probably a difficult enough task that It would take a considerable amount of money.

Anyway, I hope you all like it and I'm open for questions.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:26 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
AHH! WHY DO MY PICTURES ALWAYS COME OUT SIDEWAYS?!
Is it landscape only?

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:29 pm
by Zoide
Could you please upload a video? It's kind of hard to understand how the device works.

Thanks

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:35 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
I could upload a video, but I don't have a rift yet and currently it's just a motionless treadmill that doesn't translate to anything in game, so it would just be me running on the spot in my garage.. :(

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:46 pm
by Zoide
AllOfTheApples! wrote:I could upload a video, but I don't have a rift yet and currently it's just a motionless treadmill that doesn't translate to anything in game, so it would just be me running on the spot in my garage.. :(
That would still be very helpful! Also, your thread title has a typo: "Onmi" instead of "Omni" ;)

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:58 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
Zoide wrote: That would still be very helpful! Also, your thread title has a typo: "Onmi" instead of "Omni" ;)
Okay, perhaps I'll upload a video this weekend, although I would rather do it with proper integration.
Hahahaha that's funny. Apparently I'm garbage with a keyboard unless it's w,a,s,d, sometimes e,r,x,c, or q.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 11:08 pm
by WiredEarp
Looks good AllOfTheApples - nice work!

Detecting jumping/crouching would be easier when you know what sort of sensors you are going to be be using. You could do this off a Hydra if you calibrate it correctly...?

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 11:35 pm
by brantlew
AllOfTheApples! wrote:At this point I would almost pay someone to make me a simple (walking is forward [no strafing necessary], jump is jump, crouch is crouch) driver, but I fear it's probably a difficult enough task that It would take a considerable amount of money.
FYI software guys - here's a hint. A basic pedometer motion algorithm using inertial sensors is really easy to create. You can even do it in FreePIE script. Pick your favorite 3-axis accelerometer (ie. iPhone, Hillcrest) Then just compare the composite acceleration vector against a motion threshold and you're done! Something like this...

Code: Select all

accel = sqrt(accel_x^2 + accel_y^2 + accel_z^2);  // always positive and orientation independent
saccel = smooth(accel, SMOOTH_DURATION);         // simple box filter to elliminate noise
if (saccel > MOTION_THRESHHOLD)
    moving = true;                                               // press the 'W' key
else
    moving = false;
end
There is a bit of trial and error to find the right constants and a LOT more finesse if you want to detect different types of motion or speeds but for basic detection this works pretty easily and is compatible with different devices including walking-in-place, Wizdish, Omni, etc...

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 3:43 am
by colocolo
nice work.
a video would be very helpful. did you use something like Teflon?

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 8:24 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
1. Build treadmill
2. Get Wiimote
3. Download GlovePie
4. ?
5. PROFIT

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 7:27 am
by adventurer
hope I can see your treadmill in action. Even it doesn't have software support rightnow, if it is a good concept and practice, it will be a matter of time before your treadmill become a success.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 7:20 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
here's that video that I had promised!

http://youtu.be/Ioi8aaRttPk

Here's my Glovepie script:
(I'm aware that I don't yet have a pause, I'll have to add that.)
// wiimote 1 in pocket
wiimote1.led1 = 1
debug = delta(wiimote1.rawAccY)


If delta(wiimote1.rawAccY) > 0.6 then
key.w = 1
wait 800ms
if delta(wiimote1.rawAccY) < 0.6 then
key.w = 0
endif
endif


if delta(wiimote1.rawAccY) > 6 then
key.shift = true
wait 600ms
if delta(wiimote1.rawAccY) < 6 then
key.shift = false
endif
endif




// wiimote 2 in hand
wiimote2.led2 = true

if wiimote2.home = 0 then
Key.1 = Wiimote2.Left
Key.2 = Wiimote2.Up
Key.3 = Wiimote2.Right
Key.4 = Wiimote2.Down
key.Space = Wiimote2.One
Key.Ctrl = Wiimote2.Two
Mouse.WheelUp = Released(Wiimote2.minus)
Mouse.Wheeldown = Released(Wiimote2.plus)
Mouse.LeftButton = Wiimote2.B
Mouse.RightButton = Wiimote2.A
endif

if wiimote2.home = 1 then
key.E = wiimote2.One
key.R = wiimote2.Two
key.f = wiimote2.Plus
key.5 = wiimote2.minus
endif

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 7:20 am
by OutatimeTV
Well done! Good work. :)

Pictures, Video, GlovePIE script. Nice.

But we don't see the character legs moving while you were walking. Should be 3rd person for the walking demo.
1st person view later for Rift use is fine.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 9:01 am
by AllOfTheApples!
OutatimeTV wrote: But we don't see the character legs moving while you were walking. Should be 3rd person for the walking demo.1st person view later for Rift use is fine.
Oh damn, I was walking a against an invisible wall apparently. I thought that weapon sway would be enough, but it's not too clear in the video. I didn't actually watch it before posting, I'm a little camera shy.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 9:26 am
by Okta
Great work. This is very inspiring to DIY the omni. Full of great new ideas. Will you post a detailed instructional and materials list?

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 11:43 am
by AllOfTheApples!
Okta wrote:Great work. This is very inspiring to DIY the omni. Full of great new ideas. Will you post a detailed instructional and materials list?
I'm be glad to go over it a bit, I'll do that at work tomorrow.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 10:07 am
by crespo80
great work doing this DYI Omni!
I didn't understand the material of the concave base, it's some sort of fabric?
Does it feel tiring? Because from the video it seems you have to exercise quite a bit of force to slide your foot, and that's more obvious while running, when you have to move your body weight in front of you in order to compensate.
The shoes seem great and pretty slick, do you think you'll try some other type of cover for the concave base though?

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 1:50 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
crespo80 wrote:great work doing this DYI Omni!
I didn't understand the material of the concave base, it's some sort of fabric?
Does it feel tiring? Because from the video it seems you have to exercise quite a bit of force to slide your foot, and that's more obvious while running, when you have to move your body weight in front of you in order to compensate.
The shoes seem great and pretty slick, do you think you'll try some other type of cover for the concave base though?
Hey, crespo.
You are right, the surface of the dish is just a cheap fabric rug.
I definitely see what you are saying. The feet slide very well, but it's hard to tell from the video.
When I made the upper frame I didn't really fiddle with it enough, as it's a little too small.
The reason it looks like work is because I just have a short stride distance before I hit the flat middle (I may smooth the transition.) Expanding the frame would help this, but I'm mostly leg and if I got to enveloped in a game, forgetting where I was, I would probably start kicking the bottom of the saw horses. I have thought up a few ways I could expand the frame, but I think it feels pretty good and am waiting to get my rift to make that decision. My running was inspired by the thought of being shot at in the rift; :woot I wanted to run with a tilt and my legs behind my as if I needed to get away in a hot moment. However, it's possible and fairly comfortable to jog.

It's not work, but I can tell that after a half hour i'll be feeling the burn, and have a new respect for Mr. freeman's marathon of justice and destruction. :lol:

Edit: I said that I would post a materials list and a how to, but unfortunately I've been far too exhausted. Usually I'm a night guy, but work has forced me to wake up as early as 4:30 or 5:30 the past 3 days and again tomorrow. In the next couple days I'll be sure to do it; I already have a materials list sitting my my home computer, I've just been too tired to go into it. Sorry interwebs, I still love you and I'll give you the sweet, sweet lovin' you deserve soon enough ;)

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 5:26 am
by adoral84
Nice work!

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 6:45 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
adoral84 wrote:Nice work!
Thanks! Your mod is fantastic! I'm going to use wiimotes for now, but that's a filler until I can get a hydra. I can't wait to play use it with your mod.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 7:14 pm
by android78
That's really awesome to see. I'm wondering if you might get better movement tracking bu just adding tension sensors on the ends of the bungie cords you are using. Basically, the greater the tension, the faster you would be going in the game. You would probably need one on all four cords and use a differential between the opposite ones.

Thanks for posting the progress, seems to work better then I originally thought it would.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 6:36 am
by AllOfTheApples!
android78 wrote:That's really awesome to see. I'm wondering if you might get better movement tracking bu just adding tension sensors on the ends of the bungie cords you are using. Basically, the greater the tension, the faster you would be going in the game. You would probably need one on all four cords and use a differential between the opposite ones.

Thanks for posting the progress, seems to work better then I originally thought it would.
Fantastic idea! I'll certainly look into it. That would take out any stop and go. I have had a bit of trouble with getting good thresholds.

In other news, I found an awesome way to control my weapons!\
Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to spend money on a hydra, so I'll be using this alternative

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv9nqMPDeOs

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 11:32 am
by baggyg
Hi Apples,
Nice work on the DIY Omni.

EDIT:
Sorry google was my friend - going to give this a go: http://projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/faast/

I was wondering if anyone knew of a existing kinect script that detects walking / running on the spot?
I presume Jan has one for the Virtuix but not sure when / if this will be distributed.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 2:58 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
baggyg wrote:Hi Apples,
Nice work on the DIY Omni.

EDIT:
Sorry google was my friend - going to give this a go: http://projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/faast/

I was wondering if anyone knew of a existing kinect script that detects walking / running on the spot?
I presume Jan has one for the Virtuix but not sure when / if this will be distributed.

Hey there, baggyg!
I have looked into similar ones, unfortunately, last time I tried to get the openNi drivers, I couldn't find them. However, I now feel like an idiot, because I found it easily this time, plus, it's even included in the package that this one gives you. Thank you so much! haha, I have two to try, now.
I think I read on the virtuix thread that the drivers will be released when the Omni is. I can't remember for sure, though.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 3:39 pm
by baggyg
AllOfTheApples! wrote: Hey there, baggyg!
I have looked into similar ones, unfortunately, last time I tried to get the openNi drivers, I couldn't find them. However, I now feel like an idiot, because I found it easily this time, plus, it's even included in the package that this one gives you. Thank you so much! haha, I have two to try, now.
I think I read on the virtuix thread that the drivers will be released when the Omni is. I can't remember for sure, though.
Cool, let me know how it does on your rig. I downloaded version 1.0 and it seems to have removed the action of walk, although I am sure this was just a combination of different gesture inputs (nevertheless it was present in previous versions). I used the Microsoft SDK version rather than openNI

At the moment I've been playing around with what works best (I.e. one foot in front of the other or above the other) but feel you will probably get better results than me since your omni should to some degree, give movements some uniformity. Well better than me just jogging on the spot like an idiot at least! The biggest issue I have found is turning around. It does not seem to do well with this and I am getting quite a few false positives. I haven't had much time to try and refine this as yet.

However the possibilities with this software are good. If one could work up a good reliable method it could yield good results. Things like velocity would also work well by making the avatar run or walk. Ill let you have a config file if I get something promising working during the week.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:25 pm
by RescueGamer
Really good work!, waiting for that instructions or list material, when i finish my DIY rift maybe i will start one of this if i see it possible (at last working with wood is no problem for me).

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 5:20 am
by Benjimoron
This looks cool mate, well done! Nice job on presenting the video too.

Re: Onmi-directional Treadmill! :D

Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 2:09 pm
by AllOfTheApples!
Okay, so I've lost the two lists I had and accidentally deleted an already half completed materials list post.
I'm just going to jump right in.

Tools I used - Chop saw, drill, skill saw

how many - of what - and how much:
9 - 2x4x8 - $3 ea (all prices are in CAD)
1 - 1/2x4x4 ply - roughly $10
3 - 1x6x8 - $5 ea
4 - 2x6x8 - $5 ea (optional)
2 - 100pc 8x1 1/4 const. screw - $5 ea
1 - 100pc (only used half) 8x2 1/2 const. screw - $8
2 - 2pk 24" bungee cords - $3
1 - hinge (and it's screws) - $4
4 - eye hook screws - $ .5
1 - eye hook bolt - $ .5
2 - 4pk 4" carpet sliders (3 each foot) - $12
1 - 4x4 short bristle carpet - $14 ($14 for 4x6, could probably find better option)
1 - double sided carpet tape - $10
2 - 2pk heavy duty saw horse brackets - $10 ea
1 - pair of old shoes - priceless?

Okay, so right now it sits at about $170. Not too bad!
The next thing to think about is input. There are a few options. Kinect if you own one is great. I have yet to get mine working, but it promises to be very fluid. Wiimotes are great because they are so inexpensive.
I have yet to make a smooth wiimote script.

Things to think about:
Although I still don't have my Rift DK (45xxx) I can understand that running will have to be treated delicately. Too much positional head movement and it could be very unpleasant. If you want to emulate this, really think hard about your size, how you walk, and the angle you want the slope, because you want your feet to slide under you well. If it's too steep, it will be very tiring, forcing you to move your weight more over top of it meaning your head positioning will move, not steep enough and you'll find a similar problem.

I used to run on the treadmill, but even with good music, it's just f*^$ing boring.
It'll be great to be able to stay active (Canadian winters can really suck) and kick ass in an immersive experience. So I'm very excited for Virtuix's upcoming kickstarter, this is a great tech.