Meant to be Seen

Hi,

I'm surprised that the Durovis Dive / OpenDive hasn't been mentioned on this forum!
Check it out at http://www.durovis.com/index.html
Basically it is a mobile phone and lens holder fabricated with a 3d printer.
There's also some software available for it: Quake 2 with stereo rendering and motion sensor support.
The lens kit (with headband) costs a mere 7€ at amazon.de, you just need to download and 3d print the Open Dive itself.
I think this is project going in exactly the right direction! We just need more content and make the hardware look more professional - I guess the Durovis guys are working on the lattter.

Here is an introductory video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n1nr9C6JMk

And this video shows the low latency of the solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7VNUeIj5Xc


Finally, there is a German news article with a more professional video at

http://www.chip.de/news/Dive-Virtual-Re ... 95147.html

There have been a couple of similar products, mainly aimed at the iPhone crowd.
Even Palmer had a similar concept with the Fov2Go.

Nevertheless, i haven't been able to get something for my HTC One (1080p) yet. So i put my name on the preorder list for the Dive. While i'm looking forward playing Q2 during lunch time at work, i'm also hoping that i can enjoy some movies on it. Wondering what the fov on this one is?

I finished printing it today and assembled it this evening. Needs a little more work (foam and stuff). But the first test was really nice, just starting Quake 2, standing at the starting location and looking in all directions. Nice immersion and good 3d effect.

Now I need to find a joystick app (for a second android phone) that works as a bluetooth joystick so I can move around in the game. I know there is one because it's shown in the video at chip.de. Any pointers?

Here's a picture:

Btw I tested it today with a Galaxy S3, tomorrow I will try it with a HTC One and a Galaxy S4.

Hi everyone, I'm from spain, and I will build one of these open dives, but with some light wood, because i have no 3D printer.
Deop, you tried it right? how's the vision range?is it inmersive?
I'm waiting for my lens kit and then I will start the job.

PD: Sorry for my english level :S

Hey Deop!

Did you print it out by yourself? I'm looking for an online service, but i'm not sure if that works out and how much that would cost.
Did you try some SBS3D movies as well?
Can you measure the FoV or give us a guesstimate? Any comparisons?
I'm very interested to hear more about your experience with the HTC One for obvious reasons.

SinSilla wrote:Did you print it out by yourself? I'm looking for an online service, but i'm not sure if that works out and how much that would cost.
Did you try some SBS3D movies as well?
Can you measure the FoV or give us a guesstimate? Any comparisons?
I'm very interested to hear more about your experience with the HTC One for obvious reasons.

Yes, I printed it by myself. I don't own a 3d printer, but I have access to an Ultimaker.

Haven't tried SBS3D movies yet. Do you think they will be enjoyable without headtracking?

If you tell me how to measure the FoV, I will. What I can say that it is quite large (a lot larger than the very cheap HMD I bought a few years ago).
So you don't have the impression of being in a dark room with a TV hanging in the air a couple of meters away, instead it pretty much fills the view. Nice immersion!
The lenses are very small but they are extremely close to the eyes.

I only got to try the HTC One very briefly. The display looked nice through the lenses, better than the Galaxy S3.
I tried a Galaxy S4 also, it also looked better than the Galaxy S3 (less of a screendoor effect).

The whole thing is still *very* fiddly. I have to experiment some more in getting the smartphone fixated quickly and properly.

I currently use another android phone to remote control it (using the OpenDive GDXControl app from the Google Play Store). I think I should by the Snakebyte idroid:con gamepad sooner or later...

There are many small issues with the controls etc.

Another area that needs improvement: There is outside light leaking in on the sides so it's best to play in a dark room.

I created a G+ community for the OpenDive to exchange tips, improvements etc.

Regarding measuring the FOV, I guess I will just print out a sheet of paper and check what the visible area is.

According to the creator, the FoV is around 90°

Thanks for your initial impressions!

Yes, the whole think looked very rough and fragile in the available videos. As a proof of concept on an open source basis this might work, but i'm curious how advanced his consumer design will be (and it has to be). I have mixed feelings towards the creator, seems like he is running through the doors Palmer has opened with a conceptual device which has been done before/better/similar. Obviously no harm is done to anyone, but still...meh. Nevertheless, i'll be inconsequential enough to buy it nevertheless.

Yes, watching sbs movies seems indeed like an option, but that kinda depends on the lenses used and the actual fov of this device. You could just try it with some youtube 3d videos if you got the time to experiment.

Thanks for the info Deop! I joined to your community. It's nice to hear that de vision range it's good and immersive, more than a large screen in a dark room. I can't wait for my lens, and I'm agree with you, there is too much out-light inside the googles, that's one of the things i want to improve doing my own design when i'll build it with wood. I will keep you informed, and thanks a lot again for the info, tell us anything you experiment with the device

Well, these viewers are nothing new (see Hasbro My3d), the neat thing about this one is that it is head mounted and the demo app with rorational headtracking.

I hope there will be more apps like that released that support remote control via bluetooth gamepad like the Quake 2.

Btw it's not so much that it's fragile it's more that I'm afraid that the smartphone might fall out at the side or will get scratched.

Plus there's often a reason that forces you to take it out of the HMD which makes it quite annoying. I'm sure that with some practise and experimentation it will get better.

I understand you, it's normal to be afraid for your smartphone, that's the reason because i want to redesign the google's holding.

I had the same concerns about it holding the phone in place so I designed my own version (Photos are in the other VR forum on here). Mine now uses rubber bands to hold the phone in place and has much thicker bezels so that foam tape can be stuck to it easier to protect the phone and your face.

I also did away with the seperately mounted lenses as they moved around too much. I now have a fixed lens that can be moved back and forth for focusing.

Still go some things I want to change but the effect is amazing. just need more content for the phone now. Quake plays really well though

I have a question, it would be possible to use the kainy app for playing pc games via streaming, and use a program like tridef 3d to put the games on sbs 3d? It would be awesome, also the kainy app can use the sensors of the smartphone, so the headtracking would be possible, i can't test it right now because i have to format my pc, but i will test it soon, if anyone can proove this would be great. Think it, playing pc games on the open dive and with headtracking, like oculus rift, anyone try it please!

It should work but there will be some lag issues. I have done the same thing using free pie and splashtop but was having problems with splashtop not working in full screen mode. Will test this later .

Native content is so much better but I cant see people spending any time developing it. I was going to have a look at unity 3d but I dont know if a sbs 3d plugin exists for android version. That and a decent gyro control plugin.

Matt.

I know that can be some lag with the headtracking, but the kainy app has a great framerate with games, it's designed for that, if it works with the sbs3d we can play games displaying on the open dive, mirrors edge has to be awesome, the headtracking may has some lag, but we have to try it, can be good while we wait for some native apps, don't you think?

Hi its me Stefan Welker
I think the best way to play is a bluetooth keyboard.
Right now it is less of a hassle than the icade controller because it has all keys and you can configure quake with it
the opendive control app should work also .

I also have a video that demonstrates assembly so everything works. Its not yet online

For now use hot glue on the smarphone holders to create an /\ shape on the front

Use foam and glue with hot glue to the face contact area.

Use Duct Tape with foam for the smartphone holders like this

[ | ] the pipe character is foam . wrap that around the holders to create buffer zones for holding the phone

Yesterday i recived my durovis dive lenses, so i will begin to build it this weekend. I alredy tried the lenses, the effect is really cool

Just in case anyone is interested I made my own version of this as there were a few things on the orignal that I didn't get on with.

My design can be found and downloaded from here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:93460

It works with the same lenses that can be purchased from the opendive site. You may need to open the Lens holder file in Sketchup and change the size depending on your printer. You can also change the IPD to suit your vision. Just delete the existing holes in sketchup and then create 2 new holes the correct size and distance from the center.

Matt.

Good design! I started yersterday with my own design in wood, and i will try to finish it today, if i have success i will show you too

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=divegames&c=apps …
Dive Unity Demo is out and :
http://www.durovis.com/software.html
The Plugin and demo project are out too.

Hi.

I am getting quite bad yaw drift on this one. If I hold the phone perfectly still the entire scene rotates around anti clockwise. Are you not using the magnetometer? It didnt happen with the pre ions demos. I am using a Samsung galaxy s4.

Matt

No I dont use the magnetometer. Do you have that every time, i have a Sony Xperia Z that does that *sometimes*, I will have to investigate. With the sony the problem goes away after reboot.
I dont know where it comes from and it is not in the software (bad gyro calibration could be the reason.)

It seems I have found the reason for that . When the device has initialized the Compass it tries to give you the "Corrected Gyroscope" from Google as Sensor, I need the Raw values, so it is wrong . Corrected my ass.

I'll fix it today.

Stefan

Croccy, I hope I have fixed this stupid bug. The Demo from the store will shortly update, please tell me if you still get the drifting with version 3 (versioncode 1.2)
What was your phone again ?


Stefan

Croccy, by the way I printed your device to test it. It also works quite good, although i dont like the way the lenses are fixed. The eye distance of people is different so we need to be adjustable to that , also I find that this lens holder is not comfortable around my eyes. You should definately check out my new solution with opendive. The lens holders are quite adjustable now and are also stable when you are ready adjusting. I like the way you made the foam areas wide from cylinder sections . I will probable consider such a solution for OpenDive too. Also I am working on a configurable opendive Thing that you can adjust some parameters for printing. for example use Clips for cellphon fixture or use Rubber brackets


Version 1.2 is available at the play store now. Please test it, Croccy. When you find its working with the play store app, ill upload a new plugin for you.
Stefan

Croccy, about the issue that the yaw drifts sometimes, I can not reproduce this bug reliably on the Sony Xperia Z, it seems to be connected to the MPL Gyroscope by Invensense. Do you know which chipset is inside the S4?

Hi,

Will have a test later. it's too sunny at the moment .

I know the lens distance was fixed with my design but I basically built it for me Selfish I now hehe. I was going to look into making it customisable so people could enter their IPD but I am new to the 3d printing thing so just uploaded the google sketchup designs so people could modify it manually if they wanted to.

When you say it was uncomfortable around the eyes do you mean the nose piece? In the end I used some lenses from a telescope eye piece and i'm wondering if that allows them to sit slightly further away from my eyes as the lens holder doesnt touch my face at all.

Will have to print your nwe version soon but I'm finishing off my PC based DIY rift atm. Will prob upload that to thingiverse too so people can play around wit it. Again it will be pretty specific to the hardware I used (5.6inch lcd, 7in1 controller and a sparkfun 9dof sensor.).

Really looking forward to your unity plugin though as it will be nice just to build some pretty looking landscapes and be able to walk around them in 3d. Might see about building my house for a laugh! hehe.

Matt

The dive Forum is online:

www.durovis.com/board

It'd be interesting to integrate something like this into your product:

http://www.varesano.net/projects/hardware/FreeIMU

And use that instead of the smartphone's IMU. That way you'd have a more consistent implementation.

You could probably get the IMU's manufactured (all of the specs are available) to get costs pretty low.

I just found out about program named TwomonUSB, which uses your phone as second screen so you can use it for playing or other stuff. I found some reviews and stuff and in every review it said theres no latency. I even found comment from Dives facebook page where some guy said he uses twomonUSB which works great and no lag at all. I dont have the money myself to buy it and test it out so im bringing it out if someone else might want to give it a try, as it seems super promising and might be a big leap for Dive/DIY Dive users!

Heres links for android and apple
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ltwomonusb
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twomonu ... 22580?mt=8

Kainy is also very good for a wireless solution, it's not quite there yet!

Playing Watchdogs on my Android

Hi,

I have ordered a Dive, just waiting for it to arrive. I have setup my PC to stream to my HTC One (M7) and I have it working pretty well with head tracking also.

I am using:

Kainy - Probably the best all round solution but I can't remove the mouse buttons from the display, a bit annoying.
Splashtop - This works well but seems a little less responsive.
Limelight - Best performance wise but annoying to use, it tends to drop out or crash a bit.

FreePIE for head tracking.
TriDef for 3D.

TwomonUSB doesn't seem to work with games for me, my CPU (which is an i7 @ 3.5GHz) gets maxed out when a games is running making it run at only a few fps.

My main issue is when I play a game and stream it to my HTC One the 2 images are stretched height wise due to the game resolution being 16:9 (or 16:10, etc).

I tried the resolution hack from a post on the TriDef forum but the games (borderlands 2) just crash when you try to set something like 960x1080. If anyone knows of a work around for this that would be awesome.

Hopefully when the Dive arrives and I try it out the images will look ok.

just wondering...
Can you use a bluetooth PlayStation controller to control your phone without the phone first being rooted?

tek2222 wrote:Hi its me Stefan Welker
I think the best way to play is a bluetooth keyboard.
Right now it is less of a hassle than the icade controller because it has all keys and you can configure quake with it
the opendive control app should work also .

I also have a video that demonstrates assembly so everything works. Its not yet online

For now use hot glue on the smarphone holders to create an /\ shape on the front

Use foam and glue with hot glue to the face contact area.

Use Duct Tape with foam for the smartphone holders like this

[ | ] the pipe character is foam . wrap that around the holders to create buffer zones for holding the phone

Hi Stefan, I have been playing with some unity concept stuff and the dive plugin, but would that not be the obvious best solution for Android VR
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00GTQ0 ... ge_o01_s00