I’ve seen this at CES but failed to try it myself. It’s been suggested just a couple times to implement something like this with SimuRide. Below is a video of TrackIR explained using what looks to be a flight simulator.
Have you used a head-tracking device with a game? How was it?
Or, what do you think about having the option to use it? Is it too expensive for home users? Should schools use it?
Review from Kenneth:
It seems a little strange the very first time you try it, because you are only turning your head a little and the view on the screen changes more, but it becomes very naturally almost immediately. You can control how sensitive the system is to your head motions.
It has to be a smooth scrolling of the view. A jump to a side view wouldn’t seem natural.
The TrackIR system is very ingenious. They use a small infrared projector that sits on top of your monitor. You wear an attachment to your headphones or a hat that has three targets. The projector has a sensor that detects the movement of those targets and translates them into a 3-D motion of your head. It can do 6 axis tracking: yaw, pitch, and in-out. It is remarkable.
You can sit a normal distance from your screen. It doesn’t seem to matter that much.
I play flight slimulators and driving games and I wouldn’t consider playing them any more without it. In real life, when you drive and are turning left or right, you look in that direction before you turn. With a computer program, if you have three monitors, you have somewhere to look and you wouldn’t need it. Most of us can’t afford three monitors at home. 🙂
If you go to their website, you’ll see that many car racing programs support their system:
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/03-enhanced-games/enhanced-games-racing.html