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Ralian's headtracker build

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:59 pm
by Ralian
Around two months ago, I decided to build an optical head tracker for facetracknoir, just to test the waters with head tracking. It worked pretty well under conditions you would expect an optical one to (that is when there are no other light sources in the room), and I got pretty used to it. As such, I ordered parts for an Infrared head tracker following plans here, using a cheap webcam and 880nm equipment.

I'll update with pictures and progress, but for now here is my bill of materials (surprise - it's hella cheap!)
5 880nm IED, $8.37
PS EYE Webcam, $4.99
4 AA Spec battery holder, $4.79
15-ohm, 0.5 watt resistor x10, $3.93 (also the flameproof model, perfect for when my head explodes from how badass headtracking is)

I'll also be on a completely new laptop soon. This is gonna be a great weekend. :science101:

Re: Ralian's headtracker build

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 3:18 pm
by zitron
Holy shit that's some expensive LEDs and resistors. Don't buy them from Amazon, get them on ebay or electronic distributors like mouser, digikey, farnell.

For example:
http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/ofl-310 ... dp/1716707

10 for £0.054 You could have bought 125 for £5.

Also I wouldn't bother with removing the IR filter, I removed mine, no difference. Nearly broke the lens and without the filter the focus is not as good. Just put a thin sheet of black plastic in front of the lens (e.g. from a floppy disk, film negative, etc.), so it filters out visible light. The LEDs are strong enough to get through the filter anyway, no need to risk damaging the lens.

Re: Ralian's headtracker build

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:27 pm
by Ralian
I understand how large a markup it is, but what I'm really paying for is the shipping. Notice that all those products are eligible for amazon prime, and also that I'm just a lazy bastard who would rather not wait for mail for two weeks for freely shipped goods, or pay an extra $15 for two day shipping from a supplier. You're right that bulk suppliers are far cheaper, but I think for making a single unit, a price of $3-4 on each is no problem.

Thanks for the insight on the IR filter, I didn't know that (though I suppose that makes sense, as a bright IR device will blind most common security cameras.) I'll definitely try it with floppy disk film only first.

Re: Ralian's headtracker build

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:18 pm
by boberro
I paid $20 for assembled one, with modified ps-eye. Must say though, that working on mine previous "breatboard on a hat" was fun.