Sixense Wireless Motion Tracking System!

[mickman]

Yipeee.... Sixense sure knows where the future is heading ..... nice one

Now for some constructive criticism ( healthy.. criticism, there is such a thing yes ? )

I'm a little worried about the weight of those new hand controllers...
They've added extra material which can only result in a heavier controller.

Of course this all pure speculation as we have no idea what's in the guts of controller.
For all we know this little gem could be even lighter..

The base station looks like it will actually hold the controllers firmly in place.... nice one. The current Hydra station requires a bit of a balancing act to hold the controllers in position. The "coffee mug holder " could also be a coffee warmer... but being much larger in size than the current green ball I presume it will transmit a stronger magnetic signal .... yes, so I wonder what the effective range of play will be ?

[T_K_23]

This thing needs a hand strap, I can foresee many broken windows with this baby, "playing call of duty" HAND GRENADE

There appears to be a place to put straps right here:

[blazespinnaker]

Of course this all pure speculation as we have no idea what's in the guts of controller.
For all we know this little gem could be even lighter..

I dunno, I like a little heft. Helps with the immersion.

[Omarzuqo]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

Sorry I had nothing relevant to say, I'm so excited I just had to post in this thread.

[geekmaster]

... There appears to be a place to put straps right here: ...

Those bits you circled in red look like spring clips to me, to keep the controllers snapped into the base until you remove them. Strap clips are usually mounted in the corners or a bottom edge, and not on a central top portion the top of a device.

EDIT: Perhaps wrist straps mount there. See post below...

[CaptnYesterday]

If the STEM clip is a tracker then... is this perhaps Oculus VR's positional solution?

I ask because it will clip perfectly into the loop that the overlapping elastic makes when wearing the Rift.
I have to think that Six and Oculus have been having talks regarding positional tracking right?

This news has cascading implications that I am enjoying.

[T_K_23]

... There appears to be a place to put straps right here: ...

Those bits you circled in red look like spring clips to me, to keep the controllers snapped into the base until you remove them. Strap clips are usually mounted in the corners or a bottom edge, and not on a central top portion the top of a device.

Sounds unnecessary to me. The bottoms of the controllers appear flat and a small indentation in the base should be enough to hold the controllers in place.

It doesn't appear to be very far from the relative location of the strap clips on the Wiimote and PSmove.

[mickman]

I like a little heft. Helps with the immersion.

true, a little extra weight may even be welcome to some users...

Minecrift immersion: constructing buildings etc.. if hefting bricks about is your thing .... enjoy

I can see players having heart attacks or heatstroke once we start flapping these around & running laps in the Omni...

I'd like to see a few holes holes drilled in the controller and set a couple of LED in there to add a little bling... also helps warm spectators that you;re busy flapping your arms around like a loose unit.

To be honest.. this is very exciting times to be witnessing these amazing events finally taking place with V.R

What will be interesting over the next few months is how Leap Motion will integrate into the peripheral feedback frenzy we're starting to witness.

[blazespinnaker]

I like a little heft. Helps with the immersion.

true, a little extra weight may even be welcome to some users...

Minecrift immersion: constructing buildings etc.. if hefting bricks about is your thing .... enjoy

I can see players having heart attacks or heatstroke once we start flapping these around & running laps in the Omni...

To be honest.. this is very exciting times to be witnessing these amazing events finally taking place with V.R

What will be interesting over the next few months is how Leap Motion will integrate into the peripheral feedback frenzy we're starting to witness.

Aahah yeah. Or fewer heart attacks as long as they take it easy at first

Agreed. We're on an inflection point in VR. Very thrilling. Glad to see sixense going all in.

[mickman]

So regarding the "Coffee Cup holder "

I'm guessing it's gotta hold both a charging station + the magnetic transmitter.... right ?

If so... wouldn't the heating element for the coffee holder interfere with magnetic field ?

[Falan]

Ohhh man life is good!

[mickman]

Life's all good till the motion-sickness kicks in.

I seriously hope ( fingers X .. toes X etc... ) that positional tracking will alleviate the motion sickness.

I'm reckoning... it will only ease it. V.R i believe is one of those things that really takes some getting used to.
There maybe some who never fully get used to it.

I believe we'll soon be seeing seasoned V.R veterans that can tolerate extended periods in the Rift. Others will pull out after only a few minutes. This maybe with us for some time to come... like a seasoned sailor going to sea... you can tell a greenhorn a mile a away....

[geekmaster]

It doesn't appear to be very far from the relative location of the strap clips on the Wiimote and PSmove.

Ahh... I was thinking clips for the base, for a neck strap, like on an R/C transmitter.

Yes, that does look like a fine location for clips on the handheld controllers. Perhaps optional wrist straps go there...

Here is an "enhanced" version of a clip from that photo:

clip-2.jpg

[CaptnYesterday]

From Road to VR:
"The company also says that they’re willing to work with devs “to develop their own controllers and motion tracking devices,” which I’m reading as ‘we’ll make your company a motion tracking peripheral with our technology.’"

I wonder what kind of companies they could be referring to Not an answer to my question a few posts up, but certainly makes the question relevant.

What is the advantage would be to have the wrap-around plastic over the grips?

[Falan]

What is the advantage would be to have the wrap-around plastic over the grips?

Maybe battery compartments? I hope they have a decent life time!

[blazespinnaker]

From Road to VR:
"The company also says that they’re willing to work with devs “to develop their own controllers and motion tracking devices,” which I’m reading as ‘we’ll make your company a motion tracking peripheral with our technology.’"

I wonder what kind of companies they could be referring to Not an answer to my question a few posts up, but certainly makes the question relevant.

What is the advantage would be to have the wrap-around plastic over the grips?

ODTs. I can imagine Oculus and it's 16M and it's PCB expertise can probably build their own.

[MrGreen]

My guesswork (just echoing what others have already said really):

- Judging by the size and form of these controllers, haptic feedback seems like a real possibility.
- The clip is most likely there to track your torso/hips. The Rift will have its own tracker.
- The "Development Kit" marking, font and all, show some kind of collaboration between Oculus VR and Sixense?
- It will be expensive. I will buy it day one anyway.

What are the darker spots on the upper part of the handles though? Simple grip?

[geekmaster]

... ODTs. I can imagine Oculus and it's 16M and it's PCB expertise can probably build their own.

But they may need to license the technology from Sixense, unless they use the expired patents. No need to compete when a friendly symbiotic business partnership may be more effective. But we can only speculate on the possibilities for now...

[colocolo]

From Road to VR:
"The company also says that they’re willing to work with devs “to develop their own controllers and motion tracking devices,” which I’m reading as ‘we’ll make your company a motion tracking peripheral with our technology.’"

I wonder what kind of companies they could be referring to Not an answer to my question a few posts up, but certainly makes the question relevant.

What is the advantage would be to have the wrap-around plastic over the grips?

ODTs. I can imagine Oculus and it's 16M and it's PCB expertise can probably build their own.

I was thinking exactly the same today. Why shouldn't they engage a few mechanical engineers with their money and look for the holy grail of passive ODTs. They are after all the best
VR company in the world.

[ElectroPulse]

I'm not really sure how all magnetic fields and stuff work, but I'm curious...

Would there be any way for them to have switchable "frequencies" (I use that term because I am not sure what to call it) that you can switch the Hydra 2.0 (or whatever it'll be called) so that multiplayer in the same room can work? Sorta like the switchable crystals in some remote control cars my brother and I used to play with... I'm imagining have 2-4 Omnis set up in a room, and having my family there having a great time blowing each other up in some TF2

I had previously thought that a magnetic field was a magnetic field, and had asked in a thread I made a while back if Oculus could maybe try to use the magnetometer in it for positional tracking, using the Hydra base station as a reference point. The response was "the Hydra outputs an oscillating magnetic field and I don't think the sample rate on the rift's magnetometer can handle that." Because of this, I'm wondering if they could make it so you could change the oscillation for each on or something?

[geekmaster]

... Would there be any way for them to have switchable "frequencies" (I use that term because I am not sure what to call it) that you can switch the Hydra 2.0 (or whatever it'll be called) so that multiplayer in the same room can work?

Even the old Hydras can work in the same room, if they are at least five feet apart.

I read somewhere awhile back, from somebody who had insider information, that they planned to support THREE frequencies in the future, for simultaneous wireless use (back before the secrecy made all this information go "dark"). Not sure if or how that applies to this new model though, but we can always try it and find out (or look in the product specs for frequency selection information).

[geekmaster]

These are all the relevant links for this topic I am aware of:
https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/v ... =25&t=2052
https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/v ... =26&t=2055
http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=17985
http://sixense.com/forum/vbulletin/show ... ing-system
http://sixense.com/wireless
http://www.roadtovr.com/2013/06/27/sixe ... dra-2-6824
http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/27/sixen ... ontroller/
http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/27/447027 ... culus-rift

If you find more, please post them. For now, the MTBS3D thread seems to be the most active.

[ElectroPulse]

... Would there be any way for them to have switchable "frequencies" (I use that term because I am not sure what to call it) that you can switch the Hydra 2.0 (or whatever it'll be called) so that multiplayer in the same room can work?

Even the old Hydras can work in the same room, if they are at least five feet apart.

I read somewhere awhile back, from somebody who had insider information, that they planned to support THREE frequencies in the future, for simultaneous wireless use (back before the secrecy made all this information go "dark"). Not sure if or how that applies to this new model though, but we can always try it and find out (or look in the product specs for frequency selection information).

Ah, cool! I had thought you'd need to be at least a room or two away to play at the same time. I'm wondering if since the newer one will put out a stronger field (at least according to the speculation based on the external design), that'd increase the range required to be apart?

Anyway, that's pretty cool about them possibly supporting 3 frequencies! Hopefully that actually happens

[shent1080]

Well Done Sixense, you hopefully will have filled a needed part of the puzzle in with your next motion sensing peripheral, can't wait to see the tech used industry wide.

[AttackingHobo]

The current Hydra is very impressive.This one looks much better.

I hope it has:
Longer range detection
Higher accuracy (sub 1mm)
Lower latency

[zalo]

I wonder what STEM stands for...

Sixense Tracker En Motion?

Scientifically Technological Engineered Mathematics?

Shirt Tracker Emphatic Mumbo?

[RABID]

I wonder what STEM stands for...

Sixense Tracker En Motion?

Scientifically Technological Engineered Mathematics?

Shirt Tracker Emphatic Mumbo?

Super Technical Electronic Magic

[geekmaster]

I wonder what STEM stands for...

Sixense Tracker En Motion?

Scientifically Technological Engineered Mathematics?

Shirt Tracker Emphatic Mumbo?

Super Technical Electronic Magic

The STEM is the part of the pipe that the "magic smoke" (anti-queasiness aid) passes through on its way to your lips.

[t0pquark]

What are the darker spots on the upper part of the handles though? Simple grip?

My 2 cents: Being wireless, they are an "occupancy sensor" so that each hand grip only goes to a normal power state (and/or enable haptic feedback) when it's being held.

[nateight]

Sixense, you beautiful bastards, this is the thing that could push the VR renaissance over the top into a full-blown revolution! The news surrounding the Hydra seemed pretty grim, and while it looks like I may have been right about that product line going away, it was only because you guys were poised to cut Razer out of the picture and release something even better on your own! And on top of it all, I don't have to throw my wired Hydra in the trash and (assuming those greebles are wrist strap attachment points) there's probably still plenty of space in the market for my crazy dataglove device! This pile of news is all so fantastic I'll be using excessive exclamation points for months!!! Thank you, Sixense!!!!!

[geekmaster]

... while it looks like I may have been right about that product line going away, it was only because you guys were poised to cut Razer out of the picture and release something even better on your own!

Well, it is fully backwards compatible, and made by the same company, and probably based on much of the same technology, so arguing over "product line" could easily degenerate into a semantic squabble over nothing useful.

I think we can safely both concede "victory" in our prognostication (me, for believing in the same or better, and you for predicting the demise of the Hydra "brand" on this line of products from Sixense).

[MrGreen]

What are the darker spots on the upper part of the handles though? Simple grip?

My 2 cents: Being wireless, they are an "occupancy sensor" so that each hand grip only goes to a normal power state (and/or enable haptic feedback) when it's being held.

Makes sense!

[CaptnYesterday]

@Nateight All that stuff.

I agree that it has the potential to push VR over the edge. So many possible implications. From the RTVR Article, it is even possible that they will work with Occulus to help design/provide a positional tracking solution. That along with the hand tracking controllers? Yeah lots of implications. This is the most exciting VR news I have heard in a month of mondays!

[MSat]

I'm really glad Sixense sees potential in a device that is very much at home with VR. Good on them!

The STEM is obviously meant to be mounted to an HMD ... ok, or a belt (though probably more useful on the upper torso)

[t0pquark]

Since Oculus is concerned with making VR actually happen, as opposed to just lining their pockets, I can totally see them working with other companies to include support for products like this directly into the Oculus SDK, creating a set of standards for VR trackers and control peripherals. Program once, using the SDK calls for hand/leg/body tracking, and let people with all kinds of different hardware (retail or DIY) immediately be able to use it. So as newer, faster, more precise trackers and controllers become available, they would simply work day one, just like new 3D cards do.

Well... a man can dream can't he?

[blazespinnaker]

It doesn't make sense I think for Oculus to work with Sixense, though who knows. Oculus has lots of money and a lot of expertise with building the trackers. Expertise they invested a lot of time and resources in. It's a big part of what they do (frankly, it's the most complicated part of what they do). Plus the only piece they're really missing is the positional piece.

However, I can see ODT players like Virtuix or Virtualizer or Wizdish working with Sixense. For these ODT players to re-invent that doesn't make sense.

[mattyeatsmatts]

Wow cool I have awoken to great news, cant wait to find out how well they work compared to the old also would love to have a play with these little beuts.

[mickman]

That's an interesting twist... Sixense are ditching Razer & going it alone on this one.... no more " Hydra " instead we simply welcome the "Stem"

The two grooves either side of the coffee cup holder maybe additional sensor holders. So there's a high chance we may see foot sensors in the near future as well.

[MSat]

The two grooves either side of the coffee cup holder maybe additional sensor holders. So there's a high chance we may see foot sensors in the near future as well.

My best guess would be that the extra slots in the base are for additional battery packs.

[remosito]

... Would there be any way for them to have switchable "frequencies" (I use that term because I am not sure what to call it) that you can switch the Hydra 2.0 (or whatever it'll be called) so that multiplayer in the same room can work?

Even the old Hydras can work in the same room, if they are at least five feet apart.

I read somewhere awhile back, from somebody who had insider information, that they planned to support THREE frequencies in the future, for simultaneous wireless use (back before the secrecy made all this information go "dark"). Not sure if or how that applies to this new model though, but we can always try it and find out (or look in the product specs for frequency selection information).

What would be even cooler is not just switchable frequencies, but run in parrallel of the frequencies for adding more trackers...

Assuming freq saturation is the reason for max 3 trackers and not horsepower of the basestation...