Oculus "Aperture", an HD boom mounted display

[PalmerTech]

This is a side project of mine, not been working on it much with all the work on the Rift that needs to be done.

Specs:

120 degree HFOV, 100 degree VFOV
1280x720 per eye
Dual HDMI inputs
Super tight pixel pitch, no perceivable pixels
High luminance allows for intensely bright imagery, fireworks are on par with what you see in real life
Minimal distortion optics

The whole thing is pretty heavy, I plan on mounting it to a spring-balanced monitor arm that I can clamp to my desk, so I can easily move it around. It is something I would like to further develop using my 270 degree optics, since weight is not a factor when you have it mounted to a balanced boom. I should have taken the tape off before pictures (It was only used to get the optics faceplate aligned just right before securing it), but oh well.







It was hard to get a good picture with my phone camera, it did not like this thing very much!



It looks much better in person, I promise.

[rajveer]

Sounds awesome! Question though: why are pixels not perceivable, isn't 1280x720 still a fairly low resolution to span across 60 HFOV (per eye) without being able to see individual pixels? Is there some optic trickery going on?

Also what's the use case of this sort of HMD, I'm guessing it wouldn't be targetted towards gamers, or is it more for research? How well would this sort of setup work with headtracking, movement must be quite limited being fixed onto a monitor stand no?

[brantlew]

looks great. always fun to see what you're working on

[cybereality]

Wow! You never cease to amaze.

[PalmerTech]

Sounds awesome! Question though: why are pixels not perceivable, isn't 1280x720 still a fairly low resolution to span across 60 HFOV (per eye) without being able to see individual pixels? Is there some optic trickery going on?

Also what's the use case of this sort of HMD, I'm guessing it wouldn't be targetted towards gamers, or is it more for research? How well would this sort of setup work with headtracking, movement must be quite limited being fixed onto a monitor stand no?

It is a low resolution, but DLP projectors have a very tight pitch, almost no space between pixels. Combine that with the diffusive properties of the rear projection screen and you get no visible pixels! The resolvable detail is only 720p, though, can't change that with any manner of filters.

And actually, the image is 100% overlap, so 120 degrees for each eye. I have no idea what the market would be, there was a company I was talking to that was interested, but they ended up wanting to go with a lighter weight solution. Movement is actually no so bad, the pivots are on ball bearings, and the spring arm makes it essentially weightless. Maybe there is a market, maybe there is not, but it sure is fun to play with! Perhaps data visualization, maybe CAD prototyping? The last company to have something like this was Fakespace, back in the 90s.


Thanks, Brantlew and Cyber!

[Synexious]

Can you post a video of the boom? I've never seen a boom and I'm not sure how they work. How much can the boom turn? Would it be possible to create a 360° boom? In the omnidirectional motion thread, I imagined an HMD mounted on a pole, with short treadmills around it, with the idea that forward and backward motion would be handled by the moving treadmills, and left and right motion handled by turning around the circle.

[InvaderZIM]

You always find a way to outdo youself Palmer.

There is a market, it's the home military sim, general flight sim and vehicle sim market.

Such a product would be perfect for many who only need to sit in front of their computer and look around their chair as if in the cockpit of a plane or in a racecar.

I like the idea of the higher resolution per eye and the higher quality eyepieces.

Besides, I'm willing to bet it beats the price of one of the projector systems in the link below for the home simulator enthusiast. Notice in the ad below how you only really need to be able to turn your head about 90 degrees. But $6,000 and up for these plus the space they take up wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Your desk mounted boom unit would fill in the gap between someone who didn't have the money or space to set up their gaming rig like that, but also got the immersion of flying in their favorite plane or vehicle

http://rainman.tv/

[CityZen]

Better make sure that Fakespace doesn't have patents on their BOOM that are still in force.

[PalmerTech]

Can you post a video of the boom? I've never seen a boom and I'm not sure how they work. How much can the boom turn? Would it be possible to create a 360° boom? In the omnidirectional motion thread, I imagined an HMD mounted on a pole, with short treadmills around it, with the idea that forward and backward motion would be handled by the moving treadmills, and left and right motion handled by turning around the circle.

I will make a video of a BOOM when I get some time, you could certainly make a 360 one.

Better make sure that Fakespace doesn't have patents on their BOOM that are still in force.

I am good friends with the founders of Fakespace, one of them is my boss, actually. There are a few patents, but they have no problem with me using that tech.

[WiredEarp]

Wouldn't most of the BOOM patents have expired long ago? I mean that stuff was first out over 20 years ago.

[jimbo2go]

I can definitely see an architect using a desk-mounted or floor-mounted system like this to quickly and easily view a rendering of a project. Or perhaps a structural engineer could view CAD / Revit files. The boom would have smooth and effortless movement, much like the Steadicam Tango, except floor / desk mounted:

http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_tango.html

It kind of reminds me of those mounted lights at the dentist office that always get positioned directly in front of your face, so you practically feel like your eyeballs are melting

[Brandon9271]

how about using TWO LCD panels like in the Rift turned vertically and side by side.. so you'd have 800x1280 per eye. Then you wouldn't really have to move your head up and down just your eyes.. assuming the optics could accommodate this.. If its too heavy mount it all to a cool looking helmet..