Unified Head and Hand Oculus Positional Tracking
First off, let me say I have no idea HOW this could. I just have an idea that someone should figure it out!
Oculus is working hard on positional tracking for the head, but should they be focusing on hands at the same time? Right now there are all of these different ideas for controllers/gloves/motion tracking. What if you could use any controller or device you want and STILL have positional tracking for your hands that are ALSO relative to your head.
I got to try the Rift with the Hydra, and one frustrating part of that experience was that my virtual hands in the Tuscany demo were not exactly where my real life hands were. I'm sure there are several reasons why this is the case, but the reason I can think of is that the Rift wasn't be tracked, so where my head is located relative to where my hands are located isn't matching up. If the same positional tracking was being used for the Rift and my hands, however, I imagine it would be very easy to match up the hands being exactly where they are supposed to be in relation to my head. But how do you do this and still allow the use of any controller? My idea is positional wristbands.
You could put a wristband on each wrist, making sure that the logo lines up with the center of your wrist. These could be wireless or there could be long wires that plug in directly to the Rift. Assuming that whatever positional tracking solution for the Rift could also work on these bands, you could track the head and both hands in virtual space and in relation to each other. The bands could even track rotation and other movements of the hand. The best part is that this still leaves the hands free to use the input device of you/the games' choice.
Using this method, you could aim with an Xbox controller. You could have a game that could combine the Leap Motion and Oculus' positional tracking. You could still use the Hydra. You could use a glove. Or you could just use the bands (if it were, say, a boxing game). It's about creating an Oculus standard - all Rift compatible games can take advantage of positional tracking for head and hands, BUT it still allows the flexibility for a game to choose different input devices (you could even play mouse and keyboard and just fling your hand around for specific commands or to point at menu options).
Perhaps this idea has already been floating around. Or perhaps the next post will tell me why it's not possible. It's just an idea that, in as much daydreaming about the Rift as I do, I hadn't thought of before, so I thought I would share. Thoughts?
Oculus is working hard on positional tracking for the head, but should they be focusing on hands at the same time? Right now there are all of these different ideas for controllers/gloves/motion tracking. What if you could use any controller or device you want and STILL have positional tracking for your hands that are ALSO relative to your head.
I got to try the Rift with the Hydra, and one frustrating part of that experience was that my virtual hands in the Tuscany demo were not exactly where my real life hands were. I'm sure there are several reasons why this is the case, but the reason I can think of is that the Rift wasn't be tracked, so where my head is located relative to where my hands are located isn't matching up. If the same positional tracking was being used for the Rift and my hands, however, I imagine it would be very easy to match up the hands being exactly where they are supposed to be in relation to my head. But how do you do this and still allow the use of any controller? My idea is positional wristbands.
You could put a wristband on each wrist, making sure that the logo lines up with the center of your wrist. These could be wireless or there could be long wires that plug in directly to the Rift. Assuming that whatever positional tracking solution for the Rift could also work on these bands, you could track the head and both hands in virtual space and in relation to each other. The bands could even track rotation and other movements of the hand. The best part is that this still leaves the hands free to use the input device of you/the games' choice.
Using this method, you could aim with an Xbox controller. You could have a game that could combine the Leap Motion and Oculus' positional tracking. You could still use the Hydra. You could use a glove. Or you could just use the bands (if it were, say, a boxing game). It's about creating an Oculus standard - all Rift compatible games can take advantage of positional tracking for head and hands, BUT it still allows the flexibility for a game to choose different input devices (you could even play mouse and keyboard and just fling your hand around for specific commands or to point at menu options).
Perhaps this idea has already been floating around. Or perhaps the next post will tell me why it's not possible. It's just an idea that, in as much daydreaming about the Rift as I do, I hadn't thought of before, so I thought I would share. Thoughts?