Promising New Gun Tech... ?

[Xiaou2]

http://www.cam-trax.com/


 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0srY37kkMw&eurl=http://www.cam-trax.com/[/youtube]


 Lightning fast,  highly accurate,  3d webcam tracking system

[vertygo]

Wow, fantastic find.. thanks!

I applied to be a beta tester 

I was going to put a quickcam in my dream mame cab anyway, heh.

[Minwah]

Like it! 

[nukedawg]

WoW! very nice

That looks oh so promising, I especially like the FPS with the trigger finger lol

[danny_galaga]

yeah. pulling the trigger was a definite showcase for the tech. very cool (",)

[patrickl]

Even the PS2 and the Eye Toy could do that (apart from maybe the trigger finger):

Actually every new webcam comes with similar games.

The new PS3 eye toy also does the same:

but it goes further and is able to put hairdo's and makup in 3D on your face:

[Turnarcades]

Yeah but this is a dedicated PC app, so has potential for very cheap wiimote/eyetoy hybrid recognition. Would pentially be great if could be incorporated in MAME - hold your hand like a gun, coloured plaster on your finger tracks the 'gun' motion, different one on your other finger for the 'trigger'....... 

[RandyT]

Cool stuff, but I have my doubts about the usability of such technology as a gun controller.  This is essentially the reverse form of the LCD Top Gun, only with this, the system is attempting to track a much smaller object.

It would also be necessary to be able to discern very minute changes in the angle of a device in the "Z" axis, which is tougher than tracking a steering control (X and Y).  It may be possible with a special, and not very realistic looking "gun".  At minimum, it would probably need "wings", both horizontally and vertically, and track the distances between the mapped objects on the ends.  And a low-res web cam is going to provide for lousy accuracy.

RandyT

[vertygo]

Well it is just a start for this company.. maybe it will lead to a really high-res camera, better algo, better tracking, who knows ?

In terms of starting to get a simple solution to mame users and light gun games, I think it's on the right track.

Speaking of "wings" on the gun nozzle.. makes me think of some sort of very retro sci-fi laser gun.. like something RocketMan would have haha.

[NickG]

This looks really awesome, especially the UT2K4 and sol.exe demos.  I think the accuracy may be good enough for some older games, but a higher resolution camera would push it more toward the capabilities of the multi-camera solution ala Microsoft's "surface" rig.  I happen to have a camera-based  video game gun, The RGT:G1 which puts the camera monitor side - instead of guns side like the LCD topgun. It is of essentially the same accuracy as this new cam-trax sans X-Y axis.  It is wonderful tech, but you can tell (by the shaky cursor in shooting games) that a higher resolution camera is the only thing lacking to make it a superior option.  Basically, with such a setup, you can only game perfectly at the same resolution as your camera's maximum resolution instead of your monitor's maximum resolution.
Edit:  this software looks better than buying an RGT:G1 at this point because I think they are using a full VGA cam instead of a QVGA which I think the RGT:G1 might be using, not sure...
Edit2: (almost forgot) Thanks for the info Xiaou2!

[patrickl]

Well it is just a start for this company.. maybe it will lead to a really high-res camera, better algo, better tracking, who knows ?

Well, that was my point. The PS2 and Eye Toy could do this years ago. Look at the PS3 Playstation Eye demos and you will see they have come a long way already.

Apart from the one I posted before (with real-time 3D hairdo and face make-up) , there are lots more.

For instance, remember the guy strapping IR LEDs to his cap so the Wiimote could track his head. Eye toy does the same by tracking your eyes and nose (they even used the same graphics):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFN8cW1mSVY&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q51TWQe6AfY[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9EGKXXSjJc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q51TWQe6AfY&feature=related[/youtube]

[vertygo]

But I think the point is really this is PC based. Although the PS 2 Eyetoy is really cool, and I loved those demos, you can't use them to play MAME games, which is really what this thread was started for.  It's like saying real guns are far more accurate.. well sure, but not recommended for MAME use (Not more than once, anyway)

I do wonder about two cameras or tracking multiple independent objects. The "trigger finger" demo makes me think that it is possible.

[ahofle]

Oh god you're not starting another 200 page light gun thread are you?! 

[patrickl]

Sony Ericsson Goes Wii-Style

It will be preparing itself for this role by turning the cell phone's camera into a motion-controlling sensor