"Poor Man's" head tracking

[Masterius]

So...having tried VR (using Oculus Quest 2) I'd wanted to try out head tracking--TrackIR being a prime example of such. However, I didn't want to shell out $150-175 on something I couldn't easily test/try (granted, with the Oculus, I'd had to buy that to try that, but I could do that within the same day) as that required several days to arrive after I'd purchased it.

After doing quite a bit of online research (Google...mmmm...Google is my friend ::grins::) I discovered several fascinating things. One was that you can easily DIY an IR head tracker setup for about $30 that performs as well as TrackIR. And another...

Another was that for $2.99 I have a decent head tracker. Opentrack is a free PC program that interfaces with a lot of different inputs. Using my cell phone, and using TrackAR for Opentrack (which cost the $2.99), it took only a few minutes to set up TrackAR to interface with Opentrack. So far, I've used it both with FSX:SE and P3DV5, and it seems to do a pretty decent job. Granted, I've no baseline to compare it with--perhaps those with TrackIR or similar could run a comparison check?--but if anyone wanted to get an idea what head tracking is like, this is definitely the cheapie route to go.

It does have a few quirks: for instance, if I "look" too far to one or another side, my "head" pokes out past the aircraft skin. Still, it's intriguing enough that I've been using it to explore the possibilities.

[GaryRR]

That would be great in open cockpit picking out the skin. No skin. So, what goes on your head? Post pics if you can. I love hacks. May want to try that one.

[Masterius]

That would be great in open cockpit picking out the skin. No skin. So, what goes on your head? Post pics if you can. I love hacks. May want to try that one.

That's the beauty of this: nothing goes on your head. TrackAR uses the camera in your cell phone to track your head movements. It does a really good job of that, too!

[GaryRR]

Could it work with a tablet? I use FSRadio Panel app a lot on my Tab E. Perhaps both could run together.

[Masterius]

To the best of my knowledge, as long as Google Play Store has "TrackAR for Opentrack" available to download and install for your device, it'll work.