RFC: Use Bluetooth Kickstarter to make position sensors???

"ArneOdland" wrote:
RFC (Request for Comments): Use Bluetooth Kickstarter to make position sensors???

I'm very curious about what others think of using this Kickstarter to make bluetooth devices such as a wireless position sensor.

BLEduino: Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) made easy (Arduino Compatible)
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kytelabs/bleduino-bluetooth-40-ble-made-easy-arduino-compat?ref=thanks

Very tempting... and 64 hours until the Kickstarter ends.

I saw that before. No idea why I did not back it. I must have already missing the early backer tiers. The open tier seems a bit pricey, although perhaps okay considering it has bluetooth. But a normal arduino with usb stack may support those $0.99 ebay bluetooth sticks (of which I have many). Not sure, but going the usb route would take time (configuration at least, and perhaps software development).

It looks useful, but a little pricey at the open tier...

Thanks for replying Geekmaster.

The following project looks inspiring and inexpensive:

A Touchless 3D Tracking Interface
Create a 3D computer interface using little more than an Arduino, six resistors, and some aluminum foil!
http://makezine.com/projects/a-touchless-3d-tracking-interface/

If you can't tell already, I'm kinda eager for a wireless position tracker. One tracker for the head and one for the body to hopefully alleviate sim sickness issues. Now, maybe if I flipped the idea and put the 3D panel's tinfoil on my head in the shape of a hat... [ http://tinyurl.com/l8w8ao9 ] :lol: Eh, scratch that.

Well, on another note, the LEAP should be here any day and hopefully Sixsense will come out with a date about when we can get a dev kit for the Wireless Motion Tracking System, http://sixense.com/wireless.

Sixense is doing a big event at Siggraph this monday, but their focus looks to be MakeVR for now. The leap isn't a useful solution until we have some other form of positional tracking so we can find where the leap is relative to the rift.

In the mean time, there's my tracker (the thread below this one at the time of this posting). The nice thing about it is that you can add two LEDs lengthwise to a gun with an IMU and my software can differentiate between the head and the gun by comparing the optically measured acceleration with the accelerometer's output.

There's still occlusion to worry about, but I don't foresee it being an issue with either the head or the gun.

"ArneOdland" wrote:
A Touchless 3D Tracking Interface
Create a 3D computer interface using little more than an Arduino, six resistors, and some aluminum foil!
http://makezine.com/projects/a-touchless-3d-tracking-interface/
...
Well, on another note, the LEAP should be here any day and hopefully Sixsense will come out with a date about when we can get a dev kit for the Wireless Motion Tracking System, http://sixense.com/wireless.

Yes, saw those too:

"At, http://makeprojects.com/Project/A-Touchless-3D-Tracking-Interface/2233/
:)

And here too:
https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2052

Actually, I am a bit surprised when something cool slips past me without my notice. A sure sign that I do not get outside enough, eh? :o ;)

But that bluetooth arduino stuff does look interesting for DIY sensors...

"geekmaster" wrote:

Actually, I am a bit surprised when something cool slips past me without my notice. A sure sign that I do not get outside enough, eh? :o ;)

lol then you should look back through the General VR discussion forums:
http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=15415

There are treasures like this smattered through its whole history :)

EDIT: For instance, the whole General VR/AR forum was created because of the TDVisor, a revolutionary VR HMD with true stereoscopy that had a resolution of 800x600 (sound familiar?). Sadly, it was restricted to a 48.5 degree field of view, a specification that Palmer managed to match with five dollars of hardware and a cellphone.

"zalo" wrote:

"geekmaster" wrote:

Actually, I am a bit surprised when something cool slips past me without my notice. A sure sign that I do not get outside enough, eh? :o ;)

lol then you should look back through the General VR discussion forums:
http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=15415

There are treasures like this smattered through its whole history :) ...

I dip into the old stuff now and then, but mostly I follow new stuff and hackaday a few other sites, and a lot of general following leads that interest me (much google practice). It will take a long time to read all the old threads at MBTS3D.

I tend to explore references at the bottom of wikipedia pages, and that leads to cool stuff too. I love reading PDF files (thesis and other research papers). There is so much to learn out there, but I am dreaming about code again so soon time for another round of coding binges...
;)

EDIT: Ahh... I see why you posted that link. You posted the same thing almost half a year before I did, back when I was mostly browsing the Rift forum. :lol: And here it is again in this thread. Cool things don't stop being cool, eh? 3D Hand tracking with cardboard and tinfoil will never stop being awesome...

To prevent double posts, I have been doing a search of these forums with keywords from my replies before I post, but I guess I better step it up a notch and do one on MBTS3D too.

Sixense is doing a big event at Siggraph this monday, but their focus looks to be MakeVR for now.

Attending the Sixense event or catching that info will be very interesting. I was shocked when they showed up in force at Silicon Valley VR Meetup #2 on June 27th, the same day the Wireless Motion Tracking System (WMTS) was announced. They asked us to turn off video recorders during that part of the evening. They gave us thorough details and spent quite a bit of time asking what we wanted and then gave us feedback as to what would be feasible.

Sixense is very shrewd so I'm expecting them to deliver a great product at a great price, possibly even $99 for the basic WMTS unit, and likely no more than $199. They said the only reason the Razer Hydra has wires is because Razer had them added to Sixense's original design. I think Sixense is very wise to attempt a go-it-alone product at this time. However, they are still willing to license their designs out to Razer and others.

I asked for position trackers for feet too, so that we could kick stuff, but thinking back, kicking may not be such a safe or even practical activity until devices like the Virtuix Omni are on the scene. Also, they asked us about range for the device. At first I wanted range, but then again, I think 99% of the use will be of people not moving around much since devices like the Virtuix Omni seem the most practical. From what I gather MakeVR is what will push the WMTS, and they will both probably be available at the same time, maybe even as a package. I can hardly wait to have both. I hope the SIGGRAPH announcement has a special date for when we can order. ( oh, puuuleeeez be Monday).

Sixense is entertaining the idea of having position and/or motion trackers that can be added to other things like Tactical Haptics ( http://tacticalhaptics.com/ ) touch feedback device. Tactical Haptics has designs for plastic molded weapons that could take the trackers as inserts.

Actually, I am a bit surprised when something cool slips past me without my notice.

The only reason I noticed the BLEduino was that it was at the bottom of the Kickstarter page when I upped my backing for Virtuix Omni to get a second belt this morning. I too was surprised too to see no mention of BLEduino on these forums.

Great thread today! Thanks Geekmaster and zalo.

And, zalo, d :ugeek: :ugeek: d, your work is awesome in your thread with the two LEDs for position tracking ( viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2790 ). Making that work for the head and a gun, that inexpensively, is a big deal. Position tracking of the head at that low cost could make a huge difference for a lot of people regarding simulator sickness. I'll keep a close eye on your work.