DIY Oculus Rift - schematics, instructions and build pics!

Post by **IGameArt** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:34 pm

the control scheme is really something that should be dependent upon the game, you wouldnt want to play a racing or flight sim using a razer hydra, but playing something like skyrim would be great with that combination, where each wand controls each hand.

Post by **mahler** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:35 pm

crespo80 wrote:Dycus, do you guys think to ship a standard complete consumer system (ie the rift + a hydra-like controller) to make it easier for developers to design highly optimized rift-ready games for a shared ecosysem, or you'll sell the rift alone and we'll see different games that will need different input control systems?

I'd like to wait and see what the most popular gametypes will be after December, before considering this.
It could be that somebody makes a proof of concept of something amazing using something totally different.
But I've already seen 3 awesome hydra-demos sofar (one, two, three), so you may be right about it becoming an important part of VR games.

Post by **3dvison** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:52 pm

Could somone who has used a hydra along with the type of tracker that was used with the RIFT say for sure if they work well together or if there if a problem with magnetic interference ?

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:56 pm

I've used the Hydra with the Vuzix tracker and it seemed to work OK. Didn't do any scientific study but it worked good enough.

Post by **android78** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:09 pm

3dvison wrote:Could somone who has used a hydra along with the type of tracker that was used with the RIFT say for sure if they work well together or if there if a problem with magnetic interference ?

I thought that the Rift tracker only used accelerometer and gyroscopic data, not magnetic sensor - hence the inability to have absolute direction tracking. So there should be no issue using the hydra with the Rift.

Post by **brantlew** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:22 pm

We only know the tracker that was used for the demo prototype - and that was almost purely out of coincidence because it just happened to be the tracker that Carmack had fiddled around with and was able to quickly integrate into the demo. But just as Oculus is reconsidering other possibilities for screens and lenses, we should expect that they are looking at all available tracker solutions - including a "driftless" 9DOF tracker.

Post by **FingerFlinger** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:26 pm

Cool, I just found out the 7" panels we have at work use a discrete driver, so I should be able to inject my own signal. I'll have to bring one home mess with it.

Post by **MSat** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:36 pm

3dvison wrote:Could somone who has used a hydra along with the type of tracker that was used with the RIFT say for sure if they work well together or if there if a problem with magnetic interference ?

I'm sort of curious about this too. Having done a quick google search has shown that MEMS gyro/accelerometer structures could be vulnerable to magnetic interference. However, I have my doubts that the coil in the hydra is powerful enough to be a problem.

Post by **3dvison** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:06 pm

I was just using the headtracker that was in the Demo RIFT, as a worse case example. So should it be the one that does get used in the Dev Kit RIFT and I buy a Hydra now, will it work with that tracker ?

Post by **brantlew** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:25 pm

3dvison wrote:I was just using the headtracker that was in the Demo RIFT, as a worse case example. So should it be the one that does get used in the Dev Kit RIFT and I buy a Hydra now, will it work with that tracker ?

I think the Demo Rift (Hillcrest) tracker would be the "best-case" scenario since it does not include a magnetometer.

But you bring up a really good question though. Can magnetometers and magnetic trackers be used together without interference? In other words, if Oculus includes a 9DOF head tracker how will this affect users that are planning to incorporate Hydra-type devices in their setups? You can calibrate magnetometer-assisted IMU's against a stable magnetic background so in theory you should be able to use them together, but I wonder how confined your movements must be. Could you move a meter to the right or left or would this throw the IMU calibration off? How about a head mounted Hydra? If the magnetic field generator and IMU were locked in the same reference frame, would this provide a stable background field? I can only speculate. I still have a Hydra sitting in a box that I desperately need to take out and do some testing with.

Post by **3dvison** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:01 pm

Ok thanks brantlew & android78 , I did not know that.
So the Vuzix tracker does have a magnetometer ?
And if so, I guess Cybers answer is a bit more inline with what I and brantlew were thinking about, as far as crossed signals go.
Hopfully this won't even come into play with whatever tracker they pick to use with the RIFT.

Post by **brantlew** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:21 pm

yes, the Vuzix tracker does include a magnetometer so cyber's experience is the only relevant data point that we have

Post by **crespo80** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:36 am

Dycus wrote:Crespo - I doubt it. We're letting developers figure out what kind of control schemes work best for their games and whatnot.

I agree with you for the dev kit to be released in December: the best thing is to let the devs free to experiment any sort of control scheme and figure it out which works best for their games.
But don't you think that, for the consumer version, would it be best to make a selection among the different approaches and choose the best one to make it the "standard Rift control set"?
Because if the consumer rift will be sold alone, the most plausible scenario is that every "rift" game is just a normal mouse/keyboard game that has a "rift mode" that only lets you turn your head around like in the doom3 demo, and this would be a pity in my opinion.

If you made a consumer bundle even with a low-cost hydra-like controller that doesn't raise the price up too much, all the rift games could be highly optimed for that and bring a far superior VR experience just out-of-the-box.

Just my 2 cents

Post by **Dycus** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:59 am

I dunno, I guess we'll see!

Also, check out the controller this guy made!

http://imgur.com/a/7hlI2#0
http://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/com ... _designed/

I've been meaning to get into microcontroller programming for a while now... except I would want to build mine in a Zapper.

Post by **crespo80** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 4:56 am

Dycus wrote: I've been meaning to get into microcontroller programming for a while now... except I would want to build mine in a Zapper.

I want that, and please make a duck hunt mod in which we can finally shot that damned dog

OT
On a side note, I just noted that the oculus image of the stylized eye is identical to the "watch item" icon of the ebay android app, I hope that won't cause any legal issue

Post by **MrGreen** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:08 am

crespo80 wrote:
Dycus wrote:Crespo - I doubt it. We're letting developers figure out what kind of control schemes work best for their games and whatnot.
I agree with you for the dev kit to be released in December: the best thing is to let the devs free to experiment any sort of control scheme and figure it out which works best for their games.
But don't you think that, for the consumer version, would it be best to make a selection among the different approaches and choose the best one to make it the "standard Rift control set"?
Because if the consumer rift will be sold alone, the most plausible scenario is that every "rift" game is just a normal mouse/keyboard game that has a "rift mode" that only lets you turn your head around like in the doom3 demo, and this would be a pity in my opinion.

If you made a consumer bundle even with a low-cost hydra-like controller that doesn't raise the price up too much, all the rift games could be highly optimed for that and bring a far superior VR experience just out-of-the-box.

Just my 2 cents

Yeah if there's no driving force behind it I'm afraid most devs will continue to support gamepad + m/kb and call it a day. On a side note, mouse and keyboard, which is considered the preferred control method of gods, is an absolute no-no with the Rift. How ironic... Problem is, the simple thought of having to use anything else could be a deal breaker for a lot of PC gamers. At this point the Razer Hydra seems to be the best choice. The most realistic one anyway. But how many devs will properly support, let alone design for it, two expensive optional peripherals?

Anyway, I don't wanna sound more pessimistic than I am. Hell, I'm not pessimistic at all. I'm merely thinking out loud here on what it would take to bring the Rift to mass market. Mass market in gaming terms anyway...

I'd bug the hell out of the big 3 and this point. Microsoft in particular. Rift + Kinect 2 = profit.

Post by **mahler** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:12 am

crespo80 wrote:
Dycus wrote: I've been meaning to get into microcontroller programming for a while now... except I would want to build mine in a Zapper.
I want that, and please make a duck hunt mod in which we can finally shot that damned dog

OT
On a side note, I just noted that the oculus image of the stylized eye is identical to the "watch item" icon of the ebay android app, I hope that won't cause any legal issue

For illustration

and

But I don't think it's that big of a deal.
Besides... I think they eBay icon looks an awful lot like a free stock-icon

Post by **rfurlan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 5:25 pm

Latest build pics:

By the way, these are the goggles I am using, you can order it from Amazon for just $11:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041PXQ38

Post by **rfurlan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:29 pm

After playing with my latest build for a bit, here are my comments:

(1) With head-tracking the feeling of immersion is absolutely incredible, it is almost as good as the nVisor SX111 for a fraction of the price.
(2) Make sure to design your case so you can open it to reach the screen without having to remove too much tape

(3) One problem with using ski goggles is that it makes it harder to implement replaceable face plates. Not a big problem if you are going to be the only person using your HMD, but I have a very wide IPD which makes it impossible for me to share the same face plate with my wife.

Conclusion: If you haven't built your HMD yet, I recommend that you use TheLostBrain's CNC design (http://bit.ly/S4nEYV) - instead of ski goggles - because: (1) it allows for easily replaceable face plates; (2) easy access to all internal components for future upgrades; (3) doesn't require duct tape!

Post by **MSat** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:29 pm

rfurlan wrote:Latest build pics:

Are those the 2" 5x aspheric lenses?

Post by **rfurlan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:37 pm

MSat wrote:Are those the 2" 5x aspheric lenses?

Yes!

Post by **cybereality** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:08 pm

Cool.

Post by **titou** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:48 am

Look great!

rfurlan wrote:
(1) With head-tracking the feeling of immersion is absolutely incredible, it is almost as good as the nVisor SX111 for a fraction of the price.

which head-tracker do you use ?

Post by **space123321** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:45 am

CyberVillain wrote:
TheLostBrain wrote:
space123321 wrote: I redid my original version utilizing the ski googles and I am completely satisfied with the outcome... wiimote hooked up as the tracker - good as gold until the rift comes along! Exciting times ahead!

Very clean looking - I like it! ... and I bet it's like 20x lighter than mine too.

You just doing mouse emulation w/ the wiimote? Also, is it just a standard controller or one of the 'advanced' ones?
Thanks - turned out very nice and yes weight is extremely light. In terms of the wiimote - just basic mouse emulation combined with an xbox controller. I have the hydra however prefer the wiimote setup for the current tests. The wiimote is the basic one, however I had the motion plus adapter that came out before the 'advanced' wiimote with motion plus included. With the help from Pierreye I added an extension cable from the tracker to the wiimote, therefore I have the small tracker attached to the HMD and the wiimote at my side.

I am also interesting in testing my iphone as a tracker for the HMD, however I can't get Brantlew's FreePie console release (with the Iphone code) started on my PC at the moment?

Why not use the official release? It has the iPhone plugin integrated.[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestion, however I am still having issues getting it up and running. I now have the officeal release, however I do not see the lua iphone file present in the program, and I am unable to find any scripts with the release [resent with the download? do I have to download the scripts/plugins seperately? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Post by **rfurlan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:35 am

titou wrote:Look great!

rfurlan wrote:
(1) With head-tracking the feeling of immersion is absolutely incredible, it is almost as good as the nVisor SX111 for a fraction of the price.

which head-tracker do you use ?

I am using a Razer Hydra, and I quite like it

Post by **Marcel** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:39 am

I've got a question to somebody who has made a DIY kit: what is the approximate distance between the lens and the LCD, and between the lens and the eye?

I've ordered one of the lenses and I would like to try to accurately photograph the distortion and chromatic abberation.

Post by **rfurlan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:03 pm

Marcel wrote:I've got a question to somebody who has made a DIY kit: what is the approximate distance between the lens and the LCD, and between the lens and the eye?
I've ordered one of the lenses and I would like to try to accurately photograph the distortion and chromatic abberation.

I am dismantling mine later today and I will get an exact measure it for you. Also If you build a foamcore case using the instructions from the first post of this thread, all the distances should be correct (except for the IPD which might need some adjustment).

Post by **zacherynuk** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:17 pm

Marcel wrote:I've got a question to somebody who has made a DIY kit: what is the approximate distance between the lens and the LCD, and between the lens and the eye?

I've ordered one of the lenses and I would like to try to accurately photograph the distortion and chromatic abberation.

The 5X lenses focus in at 5cm (top of lens) Lens is ~1cm deep
You want your eyes as close as can be - eyelashes + 1mm

Post by **TheLostBrain** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:58 pm

Marcel wrote:I've got a question to somebody who has made a DIY kit: what is the approximate distance between the lens and the LCD

If left in the lens housing it comes in it's approx the exact FL mentioned (50mm) from the edge of the housing (more curved surface facing the LCD panel). Working up a design for the lenses alone so would know more then but think rfurlan may have an answer on this one before me...but thinking it will prob be ~ the same (50mm)

Post by **space123321** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:05 pm

Picked up some longer cables for my DIY rift this evening which allowed me to stand up finally. I hooked up the Hydra and played some MW3 - what an experience on the DIY rift... I am by no means a FPS expert, however I found everything just worked with this setup and the immersion was incredible (even with the squashed and warped video). There is a scene at the begining of the game that you are required to get up onto a roof by climbing up a ladder. Climbing up the ladder quite a distance and then exiting from a dark environment onto the rooftop, I found an amazing sense of confinment (climbing up the ladder in the dark enviroment) and an increbible sense of openess (climbing throught the small square exit onto the roof in the bright sunlight, blue skies above and a helicopter flying by. I actually found myself squinting as my eyes adjusted from the darkness to the light... what an experience!!! I have never experienced this sence of immersion and realism in a game!

Enought cheese now, however I had to share my excitement lol! the wife just doesn't understand...

Post by **brantlew** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:11 pm

Sounds fun. If I had not already payed for 2 Rifts, I would have to make my own as well. But I can't justify yet another "Rift" just to get it 2 months early.

Post by **Yoder808** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:24 am

Hey everyone - First post here!

I long wrote off VR as "something that's only cool in the movies". Every VR demo I've tried wasn't immersive, or was just terrible (I'm looking at you VirtualBoy!). When I heard about the Rift, a part of me got excited, but I was still pretty skeptical. After the Kickstart launched and I started reading/watching the reactions of people who tried the Rift, my skepticism disappeared... It's time for truly immersive and affordable VR. Like Palmer says in his videos; We finally have the combination of affordable IMU technology, affordable high resolution screens, and a gamer/sim base that desperately yearns for something more fundamental than just more polygons, higher resolution textures, or waggle'n control schemes. I think it's an exciting time to be a gamer.

Having said all that, I've been lurking this thread for a while, and I've finally decided to try my hand at building a DIY Rift. I've been playing with Wiimote head tracking, using either Motion Plus [via GlovePie] or IR [via Freetrack] (I haven't found a method which uses both yet). So far, I think the IR tracking is the best (for a small FOV at least). I seem to have drifting problems with the MotionPlus, but I haven't dabbled with it much. For IR, I'm using the standard 3 LED (6 DOF) clip point model.

I have a few questions, if you guys could find the time to help me out.

1. I already purchased the 5x Aspherical Lenses - Should I buy the LCD in the OP, or is a better LCD 'just around the corner'.

2. What the best method for head tracking using the WiiMote/MotionPlus? It seems like most prefer the MotionPlus with the extension cable.

3. Are most people using 2 DOF mouse emulation? It seems like only a small number of games currently support head tracking, but I see that some games (Like Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed) have some kind of 'camera injector' available. (Shift 2 Camera Control)

The DIY Rifts in this thread look amazing! Is the end result worth the time and expense?

Post by **zacherynuk** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 3:08 am

Yoder808 wrote:Hey everyone - First post here!

1. I already purchased the 5x Aspherical Lenses - Should I buy the LCD in the OP, or is a better LCD 'just around the corner'.

2. What the best method for head tracking using the WiiMote/MotionPlus? It seems like most prefer the MotionPlus with the extension cable.

3. Are most people using 2 DOF mouse emulation? It seems like only a small number of games currently support head tracking, but I see that some games (Like Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed) have some kind of 'camera injector' available. (Shift 2 Camera Control)

Hello!

Those lenses work very well with those screens, and those screens are a bargain; I know of no screens 'just around the corner' which will be that approximate size and of a higher resolution. If I were you I wouldn't wait - though hopefully somebody will jump in and say there are 5.8" 3840 X 1080 screens coming out next week for £50 !

I currently use a stripped down 2nd hand gyration mouse with good results; I'm not sure it's 'safe' to buy a hillcrest or similar just yet, though again, hopefully I'm wrong!

I think so, yeah - It's easiest to get up and playing!

Good Luck!

Post by **Yoder808** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 7:52 am

Thanks! I'm stoked!

Post by **space123321** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 8:18 am

Definately worth the time (as this is still hobby VR) and the expense is nothing in compaison to the higher end expensive HMD's that I have owned/used in the past - and the end result is sooooo much better!

I have been back back and forth between the hydra as a tracker and the wiimote with extension cable. I was just able to get my Iphone working last night as a tracker through Freepie (thanks to the fine folks on this forum) and it does seem to be the best choice at the moment for my testing purposes, however I will be playing some more tonight. Need to figure out a way to mount it to the hmd - for the time being black ductape to the rescue once again

Just as an FYI, mounting my iphone on top of my hmd caused a ton of interference with the wifi stream (due to the cables and video card being present there, under the hmd I have no issues!

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 8:40 am

You can also mount the phone using a belt clip to either the top of your headphones or to the back-strap of a baseball cap which will help get the weight off your face.

Post by **FingerFlinger** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:15 pm

I was actually just putting it on my head and then putting a tight stocking cap over top of it. Not a permanent solution, of course.

Post by **Fredz** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:58 pm

Yoder808 wrote:2. What the best method for head tracking using the WiiMote/MotionPlus? It seems like most prefer the MotionPlus with the extension cable.

Using the PS Move with the PS Eye like the guys from Project Holodeck are doing it also sounds like a good alternative to the Wiimote/Remote Plus. I guess it should provide driftless orientation and position.

Post by **Yoder808** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:28 pm

Thanks for the quick answers everyone. That Move contraption looks a tad top heavy, but I'm sure it works like a charm.

Is there a guide for using the iPhone as a tracker? Also, I haven't seen any Android based trackers, are the iPhone's sensors superior?

Post by **rfurlan** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:37 pm

I thought the Hydra base tracked the controllers relative to its own position - if they are all tied together, how is that going to work?