ED Tracker - Inertial Head Tracking

[Tr4nsist0r]

So for a long time I have been looking for an alternative to TrackIr. For a little while there I was using Free Track with a home made capture rig consisting of a hat with 3 LED's and a modified webcam. This system worked well but had it's shortcomings and I was never a big fan of the crap sticking out from the hat or having to wear the hat.

Well after doing a lot of research I stumbled upon ED Tracker. It is an inertial head tracker based around an Arduino Leonardo and a GY-521 Gyroscope module. It was created by some guy for Elite Dangerous but since it gets reported to windows as a Generic Joystick I was able to make it work for DCS as well.

This is still under development but it already works really freaking well. I was able to mount mine directly to the top of my headphones and with a little calibration it works beautifully! Even more precision steps than FreeTrack.

The only drawback is Yaw Drift. Over time the center gets shifted but there is a push button to re-center and there are plans to incorporate a magnetometer to eliminate drift completely.

All told it cost me $25 to build one by ordering parts locally from ebay.

Check it out at -> http://www.edtracker.org.uk/

Video in Action -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9oo7ZydriY

Enjoy!

[Spectrum Legacy]

Very good find mate! I'm also looking for alternatives to the freetrack for the near future and this seems to be the best one I've seen so far, short of full VR of course. Yaw drift would make me worry a bit, but I will definitely keep an eye on the project as it develops further (now I only wonder how easy it is to get required parts around my place).

Cheers for the info!

Edit: Drawback would be currently 3DoF only. However very good for racing sims and sufficient for flight/space sims (beats cooliehat/mouse/trackball anyday).

[Elmo]

Guess you could also tape your smartphone to your head and use the accelerometer

[Gamer 2023]

wow for $25 this is pretty damn nice. It looks to be a bit more delayed than a TrackIR5 which is almost instant, but for the price, this is much better than having nothing at all. My opinion is that DCS with a headtracker is as important as a joystick.

[Chameleon_Silk]

headtracker only needed for air to air and mainly dogfighting, you'd be amazed at how well one can zoom and look around with a ministick and a scrollwheel, people often think I have trackIR when I do not... although I can definetly see a difference when watching my videos -- i think that people just assume I have it because I can steer and look around.

[Hadji]

Each to his own I guess... I can never go back now that I started to use TrackIR. I don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't get one except if money is an issue. On the other hand, if money is an issue then flight simmin' might be the wrong path to take...

[Tr4nsist0r]

I find this solution to be quite acceptable. I only need to re-center every 30 minutes from yaw drift. Hardly anything to complain about. Also with the addition of a magnetometer coming soon the yaw drift will all but disappear.

Actually this setup boast quite a bit of sensitivity and steps and I have noticed no lag on DCS.

[Tr4nsist0r]

Początkowo opublikowane przez n3vyn:

Początkowo opublikowane przez Kid BRazil:

I find this solution to be quite acceptable. I only need to re-center every 30 minutes from yaw drift. Hardly anything to complain about. Also with the addition of a magnetometer coming soon the yaw drift will all but disappear.

Actually this setup boast quite a bit of sensitivity and steps and I have noticed no lag on DCS.

Well I ordered one, it has to get tnrough the african postal service first though, thats more of a challenge than you would belive.

I used to live in Brazil, that's where I am from and I am aaaaalll too familiar with how the mail system can screw you over with stuff like this.

Not sure how it is for you but in brazil I got decent results by getting the shipper to put *WARRANTY PART* on the envelopes...

Did you just order the parts or did you order their PCB as well?

I went sans PCB for my build with just wires connecting everything together and I have it all velcroed to the top of my Razer Kraken.

My plan is actually to build the whole unit into a headset so that its not visible from the outside but for now I am happy with how it works.

[Tr4nsist0r]

Początkowo opublikowane przez El Hadji:

Each to his own I guess... I can never go back now that I started to use TrackIR. I don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't get one except if money is an issue. On the other hand, if money is an issue then flight simmin' might be the wrong path to take...

If you do some reading on the Trackir there are some problems as well. Some people complain that after extended periods of use the unit becomes so hot as to either shut down or burn out completely. I found many pictures of users who have cracked their Trackir open to fit heat-sinks.

Also, the IR LED clip for headphones is famous for breaking very very easily. Its just thin plastic after all.

Price to me is a problem also, getting a Trackir in Canada can cost upwards of $200 or more since there are no retailers carrying it here.

[Tr4nsist0r]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Elo':

Guess you could also tape your smartphone to your head and use the accelerometer

Yes there is an app for that! Except I find it kinda silly and heavy hahahah

[Tr4nsist0r]

Początkowo opublikowane przez n3vyn:

Początkowo opublikowane przez Kid BRazil:

I used to live in Brazil, that's where I am from and I am aaaaalll too familiar with how the mail system can screw you over with stuff like this.

Not sure how it is for you but in brazil I got decent results by getting the shipper to put *WARRANTY PART* on the envelopes...

Did you just order the parts or did you order their PCB as well?

I went sans PCB for my build with just wires connecting everything together and I have it all velcroed to the top of my Razer Kraken.

My plan is actually to build the whole unit into a headset so that its not visible from the outside but for now I am happy with how it works.

I have asked them to make the whole unit, and I am thinking DHL'ing it instead, it will be more pricey but I should get it then, hehe. I will let you know if you like.

If you build it into a headset let us know what you did then, that would be intresting to see, if you don't mind.

I will cerainly share, but dont expect anything till after x-mas unfortunately =S too busy in the mean time.

[Chameleon_Silk]

Początkowo opublikowane przez El Hadji:

Each to his own I guess... I can never go back now that I started to use TrackIR. I don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't get one except if money is an issue. On the other hand, if money is an issue then flight simmin' might be the wrong path to take...

I'm not saying that it isn't better then panning with your thumb but simply that its not a must have for majority of the things you do in the game, it really shines when your doing WVR air to air. TrackIR a good pilot it does not make.

For me its simply because I would need to order it online... I don't use the internet to buy things and would prefer to go to a retail outlet -- I know that strange in todays day and age but call me old fashioned.

also the fact that I have all the other gear required but TrackIR and no real intention of getting it anytime soon should also tell you its pretty low priority especially when I'm already doing fine without it.

but yes to each their own.

[Tr4nsist0r]

A small update on the ED tracker.

After building a couple of different ones and trying various configurations over the past few months I have found the yaw drift to just be too annoying and distracting.

It seems fine for the first 20 minutes but then goes crazy and you have to keep centering it all the time, breaking concentration.

My final solution to head tracking has been to use a PS3 EYE modified with an IR pass filter and the Delan Clip.

Paired that with freetrack and could not be happier.

[Blamsmith]

Początkowo opublikowane przez BasedBrazilian:

A small update on the ED tracker.

After building a couple of different ones and trying various configurations over the past few months I have found the yaw drift to just be too annoying and distracting.

It seems fine for the first 20 minutes but then goes crazy and you have to keep centering it all the time, breaking concentration.

My final solution to head tracking has been to use a PS3 EYE modified with an IR pass filter and the Delan Clip.

Paired that with freetrack and could not be happier.

Sorry for the necrothreading; the issue you seem to have is that the device was calibrated before it was up to temperature, if you callibrate the EdTracker after it has been turned on for 20mins; you should find that when the device is upto temp it will work much better in games.

They also now offer an upgraded gyro with a magnometer so it can self centre based on a sort of compass as you go, this will stop any yaw drift that you were getting.

Just some things you might want to look into.

[J. Smallberries]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Loose Transistor:

So for a long time I have been looking for an alternative to TrackIr. For a little while there I was using Free Track with a home made capture rig consisting of a hat with 3 LED's and a modified webcam. This system worked well but had it's shortcomings and I was never a big fan of the crap sticking out from the hat or having to wear the hat.

Well after doing a lot of research I stumbled upon ED Tracker. It is an inertial head tracker based around an Arduino Leonardo and a GY-521 Gyroscope module. It was created by some guy for Elite Dangerous but since it gets reported to windows as a Generic Joystick I was able to make it work for DCS as well.

This is still under development but it already works really freaking well. I was able to mount mine directly to the top of my headphones and with a little calibration it works beautifully! Even more precision steps than FreeTrack.

The only drawback is Yaw Drift. Over time the center gets shifted but there is a push button to re-center and there are plans to incorporate a magnetometer to eliminate drift completely.

All told it cost me $25 to build one by ordering parts locally from ebay.

Check it out at -> http://www.edtracker.org.uk/

Video in Action -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9oo7ZydriY

Enjoy!

Hi, I have an EDTracker and I am trying out DCS, but I can't figure out how to bind the view to the EDTracker axes. I mean, I did in general, the EDTracker shows up and I bound the horizontal view to x, etc...the game sees the device but it doesn't work in-flight...

any ideas what I'm doing wrong?