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New short throw projectors/my idea......

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BadMouth:
I still have a lot of home remodeling to finish first, but have been giving some thought to what I want to do for the screen of the driving cab in its next incarnation.

I'm leaning toward triple screens, but the oculus rift videos on youtube make a headset look like a pretty cool option for sims.
There's one where the guy is playing Euro Truck simulator and leans out the window to look behind the truck.  That's pretty awesome.
There's another one where Elite Dangerous is being played and the guy looks up to see a ship overtaking him from overhead.

The shortcomings though are the reduced field of view and the fact that you can't see your controls while wearing the headset.

I saw a few demos of extremely short throw projectors being released this year.
Here is one from LG that is still fairly big, but getting there for the concept I'm thinking of.


I remember seeing a short segment on tv about a sharp or Samsung one that I think was smaller, but I can't seem to find the model online.

Anyways, imagine a small short throw projector strapped to your head while sitting inside a half or three-quarter sphere.
Kind of like the new Star Wars Battle Pod arcade cab, but wrapped farther around you.
The image is only projected where you are looking, but head tracking software displays what should be seen when looking there.
Even better would be if the projector wasn't mounted to your head, but moved to match your head movements.

Of course, you'd need custom lenses or some kind of software to correct for curvature.
The bigger the dome, the less would be needed.

Just an idea for now, but if these projectors keep getting smaller I just may tinker with it one day.

slamminsam:
One way to mount it might be to use a helmet attached to an armature that moves the projector in sync with your head movements. It might also be possible to adjust for the curvature of the screen with the helmet's visor.

Howard_Casto:
It's an idea, but I don't think it would work.  Projectors aren't really meant to be nudged around and if you've ever seen an un-stabilized helmet cam video, you'll see that a person's head shakes like crazy.  Also you don't look by turning your head (unless you are batman) you look by turning your head and moving your eyes.  I suppose it varies from driver to driver, but I know when I'm driving I keep my head pointed towards the road and quickly glance at mirrors and ect with my eyes when needed.  The only time I look down or to my sides is if I drop something.

Since something like that would require hacking the game anyway, I think that two or more projectors aligned to do a 360 degree dome view would make more sense.  The field of view and camera position would have to be hacked and most likely menus and other in-game huds would be an issue, but other than that it wouldn't be too bad. 

Honestly though, I don't know how many games would really support camera views that would work.  For something like that you'd really want an in-car view and the car interior would need sides... which many games don't have. 

Xiaou2:
Interesting idea...

 But...  with a short throw projector..  you can pretty much get a 180 degree field of vision..  and if you use a curved screen... And maybe a special lens... you could get the desired mapping without software.    I think theres a Japanese game cabinet that does that actually.  Some kind of Pod.

 The thing that separates the Occulus, is that everything will be in Stereocopic 3D when possible.   This greatly adds to the experience, as now you can tell exactly how far things are from you.

 The Rift is getting new controllers built for it, and I believe it solves the non visible hand issue.

 What I dont understand about the Rift... is why they dont just use a single display,  and flicker the eye lenses on and off.   In that way, you could have a much greater resolution... as well as greater field of vision.

 Ive sadly never got to see one in person.... so I have no idea if the Lenses themselves exaggerate the 3d effect or not.

---

Similar idea - Cast AR

Fursphere:
I've seen too many people get sick / loose balance / not be able to walk afterwards / etc to want to mess with the Occulus. 

Love the idea, but its not 'ready' yet IMO.  And like you pointed out - loosing the ability to look at your controls sucks.

I have a TrackIR 5 setup - and it almost works.  I mean it works really well, good tech.  Its just that inn games like Dirt Rally, you're just going too fast to look around.  I haven't tried it in Project CARS yet.  I did get it working in Spin Tires - but it didn't really add anything to that one. 

In Euro Truck Sim it works pretty well - you can look out the window and all (all that is is using the keyboard look far left command.. the game handles the looking out the window part)

It works good in MechWarrior online.  And I could see it working good in Elite Dangerous (I haven't picked that one up yet - since its still kind of a 'beta' game)

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