Homebrew HMD Finished!

[mattsonic]

Just wrapped up my first HMD What a fun build!



Parts:
HV056WX2-100 LCD and controller board http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-DVI-VGA-Dr ... 0577697703
-buying from elecrealms was a great experience

Smith Optics SC Black Clear Lens Goggle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041P ... UTF8&psc=1
-it's super easy to pop out the lens

Bausch & Lomb Aspeheric Packette, 5x http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M7 ... UTF8&psc=1
-the lens can be tapped out using a towel and a hammer

3D-printed case using STL files from Socket HMD http://projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/diy/socket-hmd/
-these took about 7 hours to print using a Replicator 2

Loctite plastic bonding system http://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Plastics- ... B00BSEX8MO
-worked great to bond the lenses to the case

GY-85 9-Axis IMU http://dx.com/p/gy-85-6dof-9dof-imu-sen ... tgw-J6wLYg
-this is a bargain!

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Sources:

Socket HMD PDF http://projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/diy/socket-hmd/
BitCortex's HMD http://bitcortex.com/oculus-libre-open- ... ulus-rift/
VR Wiki http://vrwiki.wikispaces.com/DIY+HMD

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The hardest part was waiting for all the stuff to arrive. Getting the IMU to work required me to write a custom C++ plugin for Unity that processed the serial data from an Arduino. The actual build time was only a few days. Total cost: a little over $200.

The best part of having a custom HMD is that I can switch out parts and add things to it. I don't want to break my Rift. So, this is a much safer way to explore VR HMD concepts.

The final product is fairly comparable to the Rift DK1 in terms of display quality. Due to the lenses, it appears to have a slightly higher resolution. There is somewhat more ghosting, and I haven't performed any correction for chromatic aberration. It is also a bit heavier. The tracking isn't quite as good as the DK1, as the arduino is using a stock sensor fusion algorithm. It's highly responsive, but the filtering doesn't work as well.

Thanks MTBS for the inspiration.

[Fredz]

Nice !

I didn't know this IMU, added to my list. Can't you remove the stock sensor fusion and make it to send the raw values instead, doing the fusion on the PC ?

Now add some IR leds, mod a PS Eye with an IR filter and make everyone jealous with your positionally tracked HMD.

[cybereality]

Great job.

Looks very close to the original duct-tape Rift.

[mattsonic]

Can't you remove the stock sensor fusion and make it to send the raw values instead, doing the fusion on the PC ?

Totally. Right now it's doing the fusion on an Arduino and is completely hackable. It would also be possible to send everything raw to the computer and do the fusion there. I've just used a stock algo that doesn't account for head movement or anything fancy.

Now add some IR leds, mod a PS Eye with an IR filter and make everyone jealous with your positionally tracked HMD

If you insist Actually I did a positionally tracked prototype with the Rift, a set of bright IR leds, a modded PS Eye, and OpenCV. It's a cool experience. I have to admit though, getting positional tracking (for seated VR) didn't really revolutionize the experience as much as I thought it would. It certainly improves the ability to analyze nearby 3D objects. It's more of subtle enhancement, IMO.

Looks very close to the original duct-tape Rift.

Thanks! It's pretty much the Socket HMD design. Without those STL files, the project would have been much, much harder. It was incredibly nice of the USC team to make everything freely available.

[Fredz]

I have to admit though, getting positional tracking (for seated VR) didn't really revolutionize the experience as much as I thought it would. It certainly improves the ability to analyze nearby 3D objects. It's more of subtle enhancement, IMO.

If you were simulation sickness prone, did it lower the effects ?

[mattsonic]

I have to admit though, getting positional tracking (for seated VR) didn't really revolutionize the experience as much as I thought it would. It certainly improves the ability to analyze nearby 3D objects. It's more of subtle enhancement, IMO.

If you were simulation sickness prone, did it lower the effects ?

Yes. Absolutely. It makes the experience more comfortable in every way.

I suppose my expectation was that it would open up lots of new interaction possibilities. So far, I'm not inclined to want to reposition my head too much during seated VR. Standing VR is a different story.

[Fredz]

Ah nice to know, that's been my main problem with the Rift.

[Sid]

Nice one, looks good.

What diameter are the those 5x lenses? They look a bit smaller than the 2 inch ones I'm using, might be a bit comfier...

[Ryuuken24]

Why did you decide to go with the lower res monitor? Would this also work for a simple AV FPV goggle?