GMsphere (demo based on Deskope from AngelJ)

[Ericshelpdesk]

And you don't think anyone at work will notice that you're wearing a huge box on your face?

The alarm would probably be software policies preventing installs A box on his face might actually raise less suspicion, especially if he's working in a separate office.

As reference, my previous job was as IT-admin at an office. I never walked around looking at what people did, I just noticed when odd stuff appeared in the maintenance software :p The few times I did notice weird activities was when I unannounced went to their office for on site maintenance or when debugging a machine and strange files were everywhere, haha.

That's almost exactly the problem, except no one would care except for the corporate policy. If I could plug it in and get it to work without breaking policy or at least pretending to not break policy, then no one would care. Maybe I need to figure out how to compile whatever code GM throws out there as a screen saver that calls the appropriate DLLs instead of an EXE.

I'm probably going to run into problems as soon as the rift hits the machine since I won't be able to install any drivers on it unless it can act as a HID.

[geekmaster]

And you don't think anyone at work will notice that you're wearing a huge box on your face?

The alarm would probably be software policies preventing installs A box on his face might actually raise less suspicion, especially if he's working in a separate office. ...

That's almost exactly the problem, except no one would care except for the corporate policy. If I could plug it in and get it to work without breaking policy or at least pretending to not break policy, then no one would care. Maybe I need to figure out how to compile whatever code GM throws out there as a screen saver that calls the appropriate DLLs instead of an EXE.

I'm probably going to run into problems as soon as the rift hits the machine since I won't be able to install any drivers on it unless it can act as a HID.

The Rift software does use the HID interface, which is already built-in for most desktop PCs, so no driver installs needed. Many Unity-based apps are just "download and run", and other applications can be built the same way.

Remember that the Rift DK resolution is still quite low in this version of the Rift DK. Even with an ideal setup where you could actually see all the way to the outer edges of the display, you would still have an effective (non-overlapped) viewing area of about an 800-pixel circle, requiring you to turn your head to see beyond that FoV. And with no chromatic aberration (or other) correction, the very outer pixels will have a bit of blur and color distortion.

The point of GMsphere and other apps like this (including Deskope), is to allow a useful degree of VR interaction with unmodified Windows desktop applications, but it will only work well with things that can be resized to fit your FoV. For general "work" apps, it may be a bit difficult to use the whole desktop without a lot of moving your head around. The experience would be a lot like using a very large monitor, with your face so close that your nose is almost touching the screen so you have to move your head a lot to see everything. Usable, but not ideal, for typical business applications (including typical software and/or game development apps). VR (especially low-resolution VR) will work best with apps that are designed for it from the ground up, using a completely different user-interface paradigm.

In the future, I plan to create exactly such VR business apps, but for now, programs like GMsphere are just there to provide an experimental gateway into just such a working environment, so that we can learn HOW to create these things, and more...

[Ericshelpdesk]

The Rift software does use the HID interface, which is already built-in for most desktop PCs, so no driver installs needed. Many Unity-based apps are just "download and run", and other applications can be built the same way.

Remember that the Rift DK resolution is still quite low in this version of the Rift DK. Even with an ideal setup where you could actually see all the way to the outer edges of the display, you would still have an effective (non-overlapped) viewing area of about an 800-pixel circle, requiring you to turn your head to see beyond that FoV. And with no chromatic aberration (or other) correction, the very outer pixels will have a bit of blur and color distortion.

The point of GMsphere and other apps like this (including Deskope), is to allow a useful degree of VR interaction with unmodified Windows desktop applications, but it will only work well with things that can be resized to fit your FoV. For general "work" apps, it may be a bit difficult to use the whole desktop without a lot of moving your head around. The experience would be a lot like using a very large monitor, with your face so close that your nose is almost touching the screen so you have to move your head a lot to see everything. Usable, but not ideal, for typical business applications (including typical software and/or game development apps). VR (especially low-resolution VR) will work best with apps that are designed for it from the ground up, using a completely different user-interface paradigm.

In the future, I plan to create exactly such VR business apps, but for now, programs like GMsphere are just there to provide an experimental gateway into just such a working environment, so that we can learn HOW to create these things, and more...

From experience, I have a 78" projector screen that goes up to the amazing native resolution of 1024 x 768. I've got it because it runs 3D vision at 120hz without ANY ghosting and only cost $350. The screen can take a lot higher resolution and scale it up. I can run it at 1600 x 1200 and still read text, surf web pages etc because the screen is so large and I have very good eyesight. I expect similar results with GMSphere once you enable scaling. If I scale everything to 50% normal size, that will give me closer to 1600 pixels left to right and would still be legible enough to work with. I know you have plans to work on sub pixel rendering that would help make it even more legible. I would also gain vertical space I never had available before.

I want to look left and pick stored procedures to run in SQL Management Studio. I want to look right and read my email. I want down and read my instant messages. I want to look straight and see the spreadsheet that I'm working on. I don't need any floating windows in 3D space or some elaborate first person shooter interface that requires me to go find my desktop at the bottom of a cave or require hydra support to grab and move things around. I don't care if the background behind the windows is black (although being able to work in gale crater would be kinda cool). I just want a multi-million dollar ominmax theater to myself to display my desktop on.

According to the last thing I saw Palmer post about shipping, It'll still be a few weeks till my rift gets here, although I'm guessing it'll actually be June since I ordered it at the end of March. GMSphere isn't the demo I'm most looking forward to trying, but it's the program I expect to spend a great deal of time inside of and I'll probably throw it on after Tuscany.

[AngelJ]

I figured out how to capture entire individual window contents (including parts you need to scroll to see) on the desktop, even when they are minimized or partially covered or offscreen (using the PrintWindow interface). I also figured out how to use windows API calls to do high quality window resizing (not nearest-neighbor), so that GMsphere can scatter your individual desktop windows anywhere in the PixelBall (even off the main destop), and you can reduce their size while they remain readable, to reduce neck-strain. Good things come with patience...

I've got zoom working with acceptable quality and performance in Deskope just using StretchBlt in HALFTONE mode. I'm looking forward to seeing what you came up with for PixelBall.

I'm curious about the having windows off the main desktop part though. Blitting a window off the desktop ought to be easy enough, but I'm wondering how you'll handle mouse input since the cursor can't leave the desktop.

[geekmaster]

I figured out how to capture entire individual window contents (including parts you need to scroll to see) on the desktop, even when they are minimized or partially covered or offscreen (using the PrintWindow interface). I also figured out how to use windows API calls to do high quality window resizing (not nearest-neighbor), so that GMsphere can scatter your individual desktop windows anywhere in the PixelBall (even off the main destop), and you can reduce their size while they remain readable, to reduce neck-strain. Good things come with patience...

I've got zoom working with acceptable quality and performance in Deskope just using StretchBlt in HALFTONE mode. I'm looking forward to seeing what you came up with for PixelBall.

I'm curious about the having windows off the main desktop part though. Blitting a window off the desktop ought to be easy enough, but I'm wondering how you'll handle mouse input since the cursor can't leave the desktop.

I have multiple monitors (both vertically and horizontally offset from my main monitor). The cursor can move anywhere in the bounding box defined by all the monitors. You can move the cursor, so when it hits an edge you can wrap it around and add or subtract from that to "simulate" a much larger virtual desktop, similar to how Synergy works to share a mouse and keyboard across multiple PCs, giving the effect of a large virtual desktop spread across multiple computers:
http://synergy-foss.org/

I was using a number of custom blitter routines that support subpixel resizing, but I also used HALFTONE StretchBlt too. I really want to do it in a shader if possible, and keep the windows matching the desktop (no pixel distortion) other than perhaps allow the user to resize powers of two only for pixel accuracy.

[AngelJ]

The cursor can move anywhere in the bounding box defined by all the monitors.

I'll have to check this again. Even with multiple monitors it's always been my experience that the cursor is limited to physical screen real estate.

You can move the cursor, so when it hits an edge you can wrap it around and add or subtract from that to "simulate" a much larger virtual desktop

I thought about that, and it sounds really cool, but it'd be too complicated for what I had in mind for Deskope. I'll probably try rendering stuff off the desktop that you don't have to interact with, like the output of a webcam.

[dreiter]

Any updates?

[geekmaster]

The cursor can move anywhere in the bounding box defined by all the monitors.

I'll have to check this again. Even with multiple monitors it's always been my experience that the cursor is limited to physical screen real estate.

You can move the cursor, so when it hits an edge you can wrap it around and add or subtract from that to "simulate" a much larger virtual desktop

I thought about that, and it sounds really cool, but it'd be too complicated for what I had in mind for Deskope. I'll probably try rendering stuff off the desktop that you don't have to interact with, like the output of a webcam.

Hmm... Win8 only lets the cursor cross screen edges that meet another monitor. My memory must have glitched on that one. But a screenshot does grab the entire bounding box.

It would probably be best to use only relative mouse movement mode, like video games use, and do all cursor management in GMsphere (or Deskope). Then the mouse can go anywhere in 3-space...

[geekmaster]

Any updates?

Soon. I have been messing with constrained positional tracking using only built-in hardware. A bit of a learning curve with quaternions (hard to visualize)...

I need to spend less time in learning mode and more time spewing out new code... But it helps a lot to meditate on a problem before solving it.

[greenknight]

Any updates?

Soon. I have been messing with constrained positional tracking using only built-in hardware. A bit of a learning curve with quaternions (hard to visualize)...

I need to spend less time in learning mode and more time spewing out new code... But it helps a lot to meditate on a problem before solving it.

Do you imagine a kickstarter once this project is a bit more developed? When you said this:

"My main goal for GMsphere (and the PixelBall rendering concept) is as a giant wrapound HUD to be used inside other video games and such, allowing limited use of desktop application, web surfing, and social networking without needing to exit VR space). You could have your game in front of you, and various windows and control panels on either side of you (sort of like transparent cockpit windows)."

I was enthralled. That is exactly what I want. I have no clue how to do it, so I would definitely support a kickstarter with that goal in mind if you want to go that route.

This may also solve some aspects of VR nausea. Or would it not help at all? I don't have a rift and descriptions of the experience are mere descriptions, shrouded by impenetrable qualia. But I do know the lack of body movement combined with virtual movement is a problem for many people. This is a good substitute as many games don't translate well to VR, eg Worms Revolution.

[geekmaster]

Do you imagine a kickstarter once this project is a bit more developed? When you said this:

"My main goal for GMsphere (and the PixelBall rendering concept) is as a giant wrapound HUD to be used inside other video games and such, allowing limited use of desktop application, web surfing, and social networking without needing to exit VR space). You could have your game in front of you, and various windows and control panels on either side of you (sort of like transparent cockpit windows)."

I was enthralled. That is exactly what I want. I have no clue how to do it, so I would definitely support a kickstarter with that goal in mind if you want to go that route. ...

I have been "toying" with the idea of a kickstarter after I decide which of my many little "proof-of-concept" demos (not ready for publication) I want to gather into a product. After my codebase toolbox has enough software tools in it, I will start connecting the pieces together into something (hopefully) awesome. I do not know what is possible until I already have all my little tools written and tested, and I still have a TON of ideas to test.

Like others here, I have a *real* job that limits my time developing for VR. I wish that developing for VR *WAS* my job, so I could do this all the time...

[greenknight]

Sure, a "real" job. Heh. How inconvenient.

I think there needs to be a kickstarter reminder system. It may be a long time before you are ready to launch your project, say mid 2014 or even later. By then I may have forgotten about your project. No doubt many others are working on the same or similar ideas.


I can easily imagine a simple system that sends out a message to all those that want to be reminded of their favorite projects. But, I know of no such service. A meta-kickstarter is needed, methinks.

---

Hmm, looks like someone may have already beat me to the punch:

http://www.metakickstarter.com/

Or maybe someone is just trolling the kickstarter brand.

[jd123]

Sorry im new and I realize this is just in development but I just want to make sure im not doing anything wrong...my picture is very shaky which I know you said you can fix by not moving but doesn't that defeat the purpose is there any other work around? also I see blue/green square looking things when I turn past the screen is that normal? finally I watched the youtube video and it was extremely blurry couldn't even tell what was going on?

Am I doing something wrong or is it just the development bc its a great idea...thanks

[geekmaster]

Sorry im new and I realize this is just in development but I just want to make sure im not doing anything wrong...my picture is very shaky which I know you said you can fix by not moving but doesn't that defeat the purpose is there any other work around? also I see blue/green square looking things when I turn past the screen is that normal? finally I watched the youtube video and it was extremely blurry couldn't even tell what was going on?

Am I doing something wrong or is it just the development bc its a great idea...thanks

Check out the Deskope program from AngelJ. He has gone through a lot more iterations of development than I have here. I will get back to this soon, because it works (somewhat) on my Raspberry Pi, whereas Deskope is very Windows-specific.