Face trackNoIR

[britfrog 180]

well I downloaded this today and despite that total lack of manuals that are any use, even a thicko like me got it to work.

Wow is it impressive or what

no need for silly hats or or attachments on headphones it is simplicity itself ! and it works wonderfully by reading your face with a webcam

Has any one else here used this , i would like to know their thoughts because , ok it is donation ware but it seems too good to be true, it even woks in PMDG and that is really good because there you look around the cockpit a lot

[jaydor 345]

I will try it BF, thanks for the knowledge.. 

[allardjd 1,853]

I haven't tried that, but have TrackIR 5.  I don't need a hat - have their ProClip, which clips to the side of my headset and actually works better than the reflective hat clip thingie - the ProClip has three active IR LEDs that the camera tracks - very positive and much better about rejecting ambient light in the background. 

 

A headtracker, whether the one britfrog posted about or TrackIR, is one of the most game-changing add-ons you can use in FS.  It's an entirely new experience that changes everything.  I HATED 3D cockpits until I had that.  The hat switch for panning around is so lame I just couldn't get used to it.  Head tracker technology takes you a giant step along the "as real as it gets" axis. 

 

For the first week or so I could only use it for about ten minutes at a time before experiencing the onset of some minor nausea, but that soon passed and now I can use it for hours at a stretch with no problems.  I've never heard of anyone else complaining about that effect anyway, so it was probably just me.

 

John

[britfrog 180]

John after about 30 years i have got used to the hat button believe me, however while this prog takes a little getting used to , it works surprisingly well except of course i think it will not work for night flying as it relies on the camera seeing your face, but maybe it can in low light situ's time will tell. It is certainly very interesting and well worth persevering with to get over the top hat stuff. here is the  site to download the software

what I find pretty good is that you can look in the rear seats, get closer or farther from the instruments, look at the celing or floor, just by moving your head in a controlled but natural way.

for those that want to give it a try.

http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/home/default.htm

[Quickmarch 488]

There are a few instances of this software being tried on MH. Do a search on the name Facetracknoir. Stu7708 started one back in Nov of 2010 and Mutley had a go in February of this year.

Sounds the cat's pajamas if it works. The price is right.

[Gunner 69]

Tried once, but even if the prog recognized my head movements, couldn't make it work in FSX. Maybe the camera was the problem. Also i heard that people are using it with the IF Led combination and it works nicely.

[stu7708 244]

As John M said I tried it way back in time, but never got it to work at all, there where back then some issues with using the software in combination with the i5 & i7 series CPU if I remember correctly...

[britfrog 180]

I remembered us talking about it a while ago that is why I thought I would try it.

 

The one downside of this software is the total lack of a manual of any value, but it is easy to setup :

refer to the attached photo

 

1) after installation under game protocol on the right hand side choose fsx sim connect

2)make sure your face is about arms length from the camera ( i normally sit further away)

3) hit the start button, on center bottom

4) watch your face on the small screen , you will hear a tone and see the pattern appear on your face that indicates that it has facial recognition

fire up fsx if you havent already and fly

[stu7708 244]

Glad you got it working Nigel, but I will give it a pass since I took the plunge a few months back and picked up TrackIR with the ProClip tracker..

 

Took a few flights where I almost experienced motion sickness before I got used to it, but now it's a most pleasing experience...

[J G 927]

I think I will give this a go.

 

I will report back with how I get on!

[J G 927]

So far so good.  What I cant seem to manage is calibrating it correctly.  I end up with the forward view just a bit off centre and 'chase' the center off into side as i try to look ahead.  Otherwise i end up flying like an embarrassed teenager with my head down looking over my specs to see straight ahead! 

 

Any help on aligning where I am looking with where I want to look would be good!

[allardjd 1,853]

TrackIR uses a keyboard "Reset" to center you up with a single keystroke. Don't know how they do it with Face-Track Noir.

By the way, wondering if the "Noir" term is intended to be a pun - No - IR.

John

[J G 927]

The jury is still out on this.  I may gave found a way to centre the thing but have not tested it yet. 

 

I do have a bit of a problem with the screen jittering when the program is running. Its intermittent thing and it can make using a VC switch it it won't keep still to click on it. 

 

More comment to come when I get to a stage where I can actually do a flight.

[britfrog 180]

John, i am sure I read somwhere that there was a centering key, , i have been too occupied with the atwc and a review that i writing to carry out further experimentation, perhaps i will try this afternoon after turning over the vegetable patch.

[stu7708 244]

The jury is still out on this.  I may gave found a way to centre the thing but have not tested it yet. 

 

I do have a bit of a problem with the screen jittering when the program is running. Its intermittent thing and it can make using a VC switch it it won't keep still to click on it. 

 

More comment to come when I get to a stage where I can actually do a flight.

 

If I remember correctly there is also the possibility to assign a key to pause the TrackNoIR service to keep the view in place while manipulating switches in the VC....

[stu7708 244]

TrackIR uses a keyboard "Reset" to center you up with a single keystroke. Don't know how they do it with Face-Track Noir.

By the way, wondering if the "Noir" term is intended to be a pun - No - IR.

John

 

I thought the same back when I found it, and considering they write it as NoIR i'd say there's a strong possibility you are correct

[britfrog 180]

So far so good.  What I cant seem to manage is calibrating it correctly.  I end up with the forward view just a bit off centre and 'chase' the center off into side as i try to look ahead.  Otherwise i end up flying like an embarrassed teenager with my head down looking over my specs to see straight ahead! 

 

Any help on aligning where I am looking with where I want to look would be good!

 

hi,

second key up on rhs allows you to assign and shortcut key for centering, start stop and various other things the default centering key is the home key

under global settings you have a smoothing slider move this half way and it makes things much less jerky

[J G 927]

This software is in the bin as far as I am concerned.  It installs a joystick driver that upset FSUIPC and caused all sorts of viewing issues when NOT using the tracker. FSX became unusable until I uninstalled the joystick driver it puts in. Then suddenly all was well with FSX.

 

I dont know what the conflict was.  Having said that, I also got a lot of scrimmage jitters and found it generally more trouble than it is worth.  I suspect that this could be a very good product if refined some, but right now it is not for me.

[britfrog 180]

hi john what was the joystick driver name

[J G 927]

hi john what was the joystick driver name

 

I cant remember, it was part of the original install and caused problems only after I tried to fly with out the software.   I uninstalled the driver and all was well.  Then I uninstalled the rest of it. 

[allardjd 1,853]

...it can make using a VC switch it it won't keep still to click on it.

 

 

Ah, yes.  I refer to that as mouse pointer archery.  There's a similar problem with the Track IR; holding your head perfectly still while trying to click on a switch or knob or something - it's nearly impossible.  It's like trying to spear a fish. The best solution is to put things that need to be clicked frequently (radio stack, autopilot, etc.) in a pop-up and put that on a second monitor where they do not move.

 

John

[J G 927]

I am using the SkySim Sea Vixen.  It has a reasonable VC but not all switched are available as separate panels. .....Anyway, i began to feel sick using it.  I never was a good sailor.  I went gliding once, all those thermals. I only just got back on the ground in time.

 

I think EZYDoc Camera might be better.  Expensive if it is not the case!

[stu7708 244]

EZDoc Camera combined with TrackIR is a great combo for several reasons.

 

1. when you configure a camera in EZDoc you can define if it will use the input from TrackIR or not.. so what I usually do is I disable TrackIR for all views except my "Pilot Eyes" view.. that way, if I switch over to a view of the radio stack for example I have no issues with hitting the click spots due to my head movement, but I have tracking on the view I use for most of the flight.......

 

2. TrackIR connects to EZDoc and not FSX, so if I forget to launch the TrackIR software before I start up FSX it will still work  

[britfrog 180]

2. TrackIR connects to EZDoc and not FSX, so if I forget to launch the TrackIR software before I start up FSX it will still work  

 

interesting--- i dont have ezdock and it works very well,

 

i suppose there is no getting away from trackIR being the thing to have , but my problem is that I am so used to the top hat it is difficult to get away from it so as a consequence i am not using tracknoir as much as i could, but it works correctly for me once you slow it down a bit, so much so that I cant see how a trackIR setup could be better, you move your head where you want to see and it happens.

 

[J G 927]

My main issue with TrackNoIr is the jitters I get when using it. I guess if I had a faster processor that may not be a problem. 

 

I was thinking of TrackIR as a Christmas present but it seem hard to find a UK stockist. Unavailable on Amazon and only shipping from the US in ebay.  Can any recommend a good UK stockist?