Head mounted displays


XxionxX

Active Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2010
Messages
549
Age
37
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
Website
www.mcdonaldranch.org
I finally got around to looking at the 3DS, and when I saw the really cool augmented reality games they had, it reminded me about a thread in the other forum about combining the Pandora with AR. I had a birthday recently and my mother gave me $300USD and so I started thinking about Head Mounted Displays(for AR and other stuff), and I really liked this one. Is AR for the Pandora a pipe dream? Are there better ways to spend my moolah? Should I just by an xbox360?
 
I've always wanted one of those! And the only head dislplays i've checked out is on DX.. But for 80$ for 400 px is ok i quess.


But that one looks great, and not sure if it's a 720 px or 1080 px.
 
I've got a head mounted system like that. It's kind of old, only 640x480 though. I played Half-Life 2 through it. It was quite awesome. The best part was when I hooked it up to a wireless camera which I then mounted on the front of my remote control truck. That was good times. It supposedly also supported 3D somehow, but I never figured out how; certainly not any currently standard method.


As far as AR, I've demonstrated using a webcam with my Pandora. In theory you could get something working on it. There's certainly enough open source tools that could be compiled. The issue, however, is that no one is likely to do this for you, not unless they also have a similar setup and interest. What's your interest in AR on the Pandora? Maybe you can stir up similar interest and get a sub community going :)
 
Well I am just starting to learn C/++ because it seems like it is a very versatile language, and a lot of programs are written in it. I am hoping to move on to python after that. When I learned about AR through the GP32X forums, I immediately thought of of how many cool games/apps you could make with a HMD. I really liked the idea of bringing video games/apps into the real world, kind of like how the wii changed the way people saw video games. The Pandora is plenty powerful enough, and uses the same ARM chip as many mobile devices. The first thing that jumped out at me was how cool it would be to make a game which amassed points based on how many places you've been(using gps), and how many players you've met(among other ways to gain points). To me, the name AR says it all. How often do you get to make a world within another world? I really hope I can get on the band wagon, I live somewhere where the internet connection sucks so I am crippled when it comes to keeping up with software updates and learning though videos :( I am hoping that my college math classes will help me make up for that though. I am looking into joining the programming club at the college, but I have a lot of time constraints. I guess my goal is to get to the point where I can make apps and games which I can port to other devices. I would like it to be as easy as possible for the users to get and use my software. I don't really care that no one else is doing AR stuff. I like making things which I can enjoy, and if others can enjoy what I make then that is a big plus. I like to make things so that I can gain skills.


One of my favorite ideas is a fitness program like the wii. But instead of weight, the program tracks your speed, distance, and total exercise time. The resulting avatar would gain or lose levels (with accompanying visual and audio gains or losses). I really like to make my levels go up so this would be a big incentive for me.


I know that it is good to have a lot of hands on a project, but my main goal is learning. At the moment I am just trying to make a basic platformer as a way to break into programming and get some experience. My ideas feel like they are really far away, and I just want to get started. I just thought it would be cool to have a headset that would allow the Pandora to have a 3D capability (if it works). I like 3D when it is properly applied, and if the display is really 1280 x 720 then It would give the panda a much bigger workspace. I just wish the form factor was better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I0hF0cbw8E?


Edit: Geez I didn't mean to write a novel!


Edit2: Cooler scouter?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
^ I think it can take in 720p video, and downsample/scale it to fit the 800x600 screen. Kinda misleading to market it with a resolution it can't actually reproduce.
 
Isn't there a better known company that make something like this but in the form of sun glasses? This looks like something old people would wear on the golf course!
 
^ You mean Vuzix? There was another brand name as well, but I can't remember it now.


EDIT: Also make sure to read user reviews. Some of these have problems not apparent from any advertisement material / specs.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah, Vuzix was the company I was thinking about. Even their high-end glasses are only 852 x 480, so I don't think any company will have 720p rez yet.


This will all be obsolete when the same tech used on retina scanners is good enough for this application. Basically it will paint the picture right onto your retina giving a much better picture than these or even TVs or computer monitors can. I have no idea how far along this is but I read about it years ago.
 
I got 2 pairs of these http://www.3dvisor.com/index.php from a project I had a couple years ago 800x600 w/ built in motion tracker. The OLED displays were kind of lack luster, but it offered a nice field of view (FoV) something like 40% which depending on how close the display is to your eye might be very well all encumpasing.


The price is laughable right now at 1700 a peice... I bought both pair when they had a special going for $400 or something like that.


anyone want one/both? I'll let it go for the sweet sweet price of $1000 a set ;)
 
I got 2 pairs of these http://www.3dvisor.com/index.php from a project I had a couple years ago 800x600 w/ built in motion tracker. The OLED displays were kind of lack luster, but it offered a nice field of view (FoV) something like 40% which depending on how close the display is to your eye might be very well all encumpasing.


The price is laughable right now at 1700 a peice... I bought both pair when they had a special going for $400 or something like that.


anyone want one/both? I'll let it go for the sweet sweet price of $1000 a set ;)
1799$...
 
I don't really care what they look like (I will be the slickest dude at the golf course), because I know that all of those cool looking scouter ones or the ones that johnsongrantr has are waaaaaaay to expensive. I just want something I can use for AR and look great on the inside (specifically the screens).


Anyway wouldn't you have to have 2 of the scouter ones to make the screen 3D? Does anyone know if they can put the game/app over your whole field of vision? I can't find any info because they are all prototypes. It seems like they would be limited to a certain field of view because of your retina.
 
I did a ton of research on this before buying the HMD I chose, field of view is one of the most important things to look for, the human eye has about 100 degrees vertically and 120 degrees of horizontal of view, about 60 degrees of view is taken up by your non focal peripheral view in each direction.


40 degrees of field of view is the "sweet spot" when it comes to head mounted displays, aim for that. More is a waist, and will actually cause problems if the thing you have to focus on say... start menu, or HUD of the game you are playing is right outside your normal field of view. Lots of eyestrain and is unatural. If you want immersion, just turn off any additional light sources, it will cause your eyes to focus without much added strain and you can watch/play for longer.


resolution is important but not *that* important, I could honestly not make out pixels from that close, when the screen is 4 inches 800x600 is detectable *barely* when you get really up close with your eye. Now smoosh that resolution down to about 1.5 - 2 square inches and it becomes almost impossible to make out individual pixels.


3d is possible with any steroscopic view see 2 original displays conjoined into a binocular view. If they don't specify it's a stereoscopic view then it probally ain't really 3d. The problem with the 3d in games and stuff, you have to have 3d drivers supported by your video card manufacturer. nvidia currently is the only manufacturer with drivers that support that functionality, but they're very old and antiquated. I think the last version they had when I checked were only windows xp compatible, to get vista, 7 or heaven forbid 64 bit drivers might be damn near impossible depending on the video card. You have to match the 3d driver with the video card driver, down to the version number. Like I said, one of the most daunting tasks.


The drivers for the HMD it's self are also only xp compatible as the last time I checked. Getting 64 bit, 7 and even more unlikely, digitally signed drivers I honestly think are actually impossible from certain manufacturers. This kinda 3d head mounted display envroinment, you really need to set up a specific rig with certain model cards and hardware for it to work well. I had designed a complete system as a solution for the product I was demoing and I remember I had gone through at least 3 different target platforms before I found one that worked flawlessly, many man hours... rewarding, but lots of hard work. It's not just a "wham baam, thank you maam" project. At least not one if you want to get any decent results. That and it won't be cheap either, doesn't have to be stupid expensive, but for quality, you will pay for it.


hopefully that gives you some insight... before I sell off my HMD I'll hook it up to the pandora and take some pictures or something and try to capture a video of it in action lol
 
Last edited by a moderator:
holy fuckin shit, somebody actually bought em for $1799. congrats on your amazing sale
 
Back
Top