MadCatz Gametrack

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Okta
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MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Okta »

These guys should never be allowed near instruments again :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFfR_9Wczjc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2BSJuDZ234

This thing was a ps2 golf game swing tracker that seems to have been a massive flop and is pretty hard to come by now.
As far as i can tell these things have 2 pots with strings attached and return spring and measure the distance pulled out. Im not sure how they measure something in 3d space without a third tether though. They seem pretty rare and i can find no drivers though apparently they plug and play.

Usage...
Attached to the belt on front to track the hands.
Attached to the belt at rear with strings fixed to the heels of the shoes to track walking.
Attached to ceiling overhead to track head/ absolute position....
Features/Specifications:

Mad Catz Real World Golf Game Bundle w/Gametrak for PlayStation 2

General Features:
For PlayStation 2
Includes Gametrak Base Unit
Includes Foot Pedal
Includes Trak gloves
Includes Mini Golf Club
Includes Real World Golf Game

Gametrak Direct Motion Capture System:
USB interface
3D motion tracking system
Is able to track, to 1mm of accuracy, a position in 3D space - at up to 2000 miles per hour!
Real World Golf uses Gametrak to measure your swing 60 times per second - in real time
Can track not just the speed you hit the ball, but the angle of your club face, the height of your swing - in fact, everything you can do in real golf can be done in Real World Golf!
No buttons, no confusing joysticks
Perfect your grip, stance and swing

Real World Golf Game Features:
Customize your profile with your actual height, arm length, and primary swinging hand for maximum accuracyTen stunning 18
Ten Stunning 18 hole golf courses, driving range, pitching and putting areas, party games and more!
Career Mode, championship play and 4-player tournament challenges
Improve your grip, stance and swing with in-depth video tutorial and training games
Pixel-perfect accuracy makes Real World Golf the most realistic golf game on the market
Form fitting fingerless gloves attached to the controller unit to track height, speed and direction of player's hands
Has all the realism and subtlety of real golf: players adjust their swing to pitch, draw, fade, hook, slice or spin
Quick play, match play, championship and party game modes
Offers multi-player fun for 1-4 players

Regulatory Approvals:
FCC
CE

Package Includes:

Gametrak Base Unit
Foot Pedal
Trak gloves
Mini Golf Club
Real World Golf Game
Last edited by Okta on Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Namielus
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Namielus »

Good find. Mechanical tracking is interesting because I have not seen so many examples of it except from novint. Maybe attach from floor to shoulders to track crouching and jumping?
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Okta
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Okta »

Just the idea of using 3 pots with strings in this manner opens up all sorts of perhaps simpler 3d space tracking. Would be good to get one and open it up or maybe a few to get 3 sensors out. A smaller setup might even be attached at the high back and have strings to sides and rear of a helmet for absolute head position (in relation to the body).
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cybereality
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by cybereality »

I had one of these things years ago, they made a PC version.

It was surprisingly accurate actually, and can give you the exact absolute position of both hands. The way it does this it is has mechanics that read the angle of incidence, combined with the length of the cord it can give you an exact position. Really a great idea.

Wanted to do more with this, I believe there was an SDK somewhere, but never really got around to do anything.
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Okta
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Okta »

Cyber on queue you chime in with already having owned one as i expected when creating the thread :lol:

So it measures the angle,rotation and length of each string for absolute position on both? That is very clever and impressive. If only they were more available and some of the genius on these forums could interface them...
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by PalmerTech »

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Nick3DvB
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Nick3DvB »

I looked into the GameTrack a few months back:

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p ... 195#p77900

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p ... 210#p77908

But they're getting hard to find now, you can mod the PS2 one: http://janoc.rd-h.com/archives/129

I'm still waiting for the PC version to come up on ebay, then I might try my crazy slip-ring idea with it.

The inventor is also from the UK, not far from me, but I think he has sold In2Games and all the patents for it.


EDIT: Elliott has just launched a new motorised VR platform called Roto VR! 8-)

KickStarter coming soon !

http://www.rotovr.com
Last edited by Nick3DvB on Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by geekmaster »

Nick3DvB wrote:I looked into the GameTrack a few months back:
...
I'm still waiting for the PC version to come up on ebay, then I might try my crazy slip-ring idea with it.
...
I just got this one on ebay for $0.99 plus shipping:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mad-Catz-Gametr ... 0862363548

Image

It appears to have a USB cable, so I am assuming that it is the PC version, right?

Thanks for the "heads up" on this device. It will make a nice little additional to my HID collection. :mrgreen:
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by geekmaster »

It arrived. It automatically installed as a HID when plugged in to my PC.

I found an instructable taht shows how to change an internal jumper that switches it between "PC" and "XBOX" modes:
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Ond ... HI-device/

Until my leapmotion sensor arrives, this will have to do. :mrgreen:
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Nick3DvB
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Nick3DvB »

How did you get on with it geekmaster? I finally picked-up a PC GameTrak on eBay (for less than $1!) It should be here next week. I’ve been giving some thought to cable management issues and am hoping to combine the two, some sort of tensioned cable + slip-ring arrangement mounted between the tracking cords, the Gametrak could be wall or ceiling mounted with small rotation-mount slipped onto the Rift’s top head strap.

http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/node/7649

I can’t think of any sensible way to make use of the second cord for hand / gun tracking, as the two cords would become twisted with body rotation, but if we use both cords for head-tracking we might be able to improve the accuracy, by doing some sort of clever average of the two readings, maybe combined with a third value generated purely through triangulation (internal angles of a triangle etc, maybe just discount the cord length readings completely?) This paper seems relevant, I started reading but quickly realised my math isn’t up to it, any thoughts on this guys?

http://pages.swcp.com/~spsvs/VisualFusi ... _FINAL.pdf

It’s good to see this much ridiculed device has found a second lease of life in the maker community, I found some more crazy experimental music stuff:

http://theamazingrolo.net/projects/one-pig-live/
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Ondestrak/#intro

It seems to have good VRPN support, converting the Rev2 xbox version is trivial and Jan has done some great work modding the PS2 version:

http://x37v.com/x37v/writing/mad-catz-g ... or-maxmsp/
http://janoc.rd-h.com/archives/129

and he's just found this HID API interface: https://code.google.com/p/libgametrak/

Does anyone know if the current Rift SDK exposes any sort of input for camera translations; is there any provision for homebrew position trackers? I’ve not looked into it yet but I’m really hoping some sort of PIE “wrapper” or standard VRPN interface can be worked out?

Given the frustrating range issues with the Hydra, and the FOV / occlusion problems with the various optical solutions, the GameTrak looks like a great stop-gap solution. Combine your cable management somehow and it seems like a winner to me, especially for seated / WizzDish / Omni users. It gives us near zero latency ~mm tracking at very little cost and would at least make a good benchmark to compare other solutions to, in terms of latency perception etc.

Once you over-come the obsession with being wireless you realise a good-ol’ fashioned mechanical solution actually has a lot going for it. I've always thought positional tracking fundamental to a good VR experience, and desperate times call for desperate measures, I’m actually going to give it a try - who’s with me!? 8-)
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Nick3DvB
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Nick3DvB »

Nick3DvB wrote:I’m actually going to give it a try - who’s with me!?
Image

:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by t0pquark »

Nick3DvB wrote: Once you over-come the obsession with being wireless you realise a good-ol’ fashioned mechanical solution actually has a lot going for it. I've always thought positional tracking fundamental to a good VR experience, and desperate times call for desperate measures, I’m actually going to give it a try - who’s with me!? 8-)
I completely agree with the sentiment here, and have been thinking along similar lines.

I think the “curse” of the (dreamer/tinkerer/problem solver) mentality is that we often get in this feedback loop of trying to conjure up the “perfect solution” to a problem, even when it involves increasingly exotic and/or theoretical technology to make it work. Eventually, you get so far away from the actual problem (trying to solve the problems with the technology you needed to solve the problems with the technology you needed to solve the original problem) that you start to lose steam and then *BOOM* some shiny new problem runs into view and you shift your attention to that.

Not that I have any personal experience with that sort of thing… :roll:

Anyway – I think it would be great if there were split forums under the “AR/VR Research & Development” heading so that one might be focused on the big problems ($100 wireless full body 1000sqft capture volume) and one might be focused on smaller, but more tangible, incremental steps (Foot controllers, ‘string’ trackers, TrackIR mods, etc).

(P.S. – Are we putting the cart before the horse here? We’re talking about how best to interact with fully virtual worlds, while the forum software we use still deletes your typed out post if your token has timed out before you hit “Submit”... :evil: )
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Nick3DvB
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Re: MadCatz Gametrack

Post by Nick3DvB »

Some might interpret the use of something as unashamedly low-tech as the Gametrak as an admission of defeat, but no one is suggesting that we halt our search for alternatives. The fact we have another effective solution to positional head tracking, that exists now, is not something I’m going to ignore. I guess you just have to ask yourself how long you are willing to wait... how long is that piece of string?

:lol:
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