Suggestion regarding FreeTrack ptotocol

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Thank you guys for make this whole thing possible on mac.

Just one thing to consider. As I understand correctly, you use a plugin to 
control view in X-Plane. This happens in a way that the movements are done 
incrementally.

What if to try FreeTrack protocol as these guys do: 
http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/ ?
This will allow to use LinuxTrack as a fake TrackIR device which will make 
movements in X-Plane more smooth.
I understand that you support TrackIR devices, but you still control the view 
by the plugin, not by TrackIR-like protocol. Is that right?

Sorry, if I have messed up everything and do not understand what I'm talking 
about :)

Original issue reported on code.google.com by y.sn...@gmail.com on 6 May 2014 at 9:56

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Hello,
no problem, I always welcome suggestions...

You are right, Linuxtrack does use a plugin to control view in XPlane; I'm not 
sure what you mean by "movements are done incrementaly" - I grab a new position 
every flightloop and apply it. Given the fact that there are usually 1-3 
flightloops per frame, this is as smooth as it gets...

As far as the freetrack protocol is concerned, it was incorporated only in few 
windows only games, so for Linux/MacOSX it won't do much good. XPlane does 
support NaturalPoint's protocol (either directly or via pilotview plugin), but 
thanks to the fact that NP doesn't consider Linux/MacOSX being worth the 
investment, it is again locked to Windows only.

The way Linuxtrack works, it abstracts the actual tracking device, so the 
application doesn't have to be concerned with the exact device you are using; 
it just receives the head position info and uses it. The information passed is 
pretty much equivalent to what NPs SDK/freetrack/facetrackNOIR passes to 
application, so in this regard there should be no difference.

If you experience jumpy or unstable tracking, there are several possible 
causes; first of all, make sure there is no interference - go to the camera 
preview pane and check that you see there only the blobs that should be there 
and the blobs do have white cross inside all the time troughout the whole range 
of head motion you use for tracking. If not, check the troubleshooting section 
of the help in the "Tracker Setup" section. Then there is a question of the 
tracking device - what is the webcam's (judging from the info in issue 62) 
framerate? Does it fluctuate? This is a common problem especially with built-in 
webcams (inability of turning off the autoexposure) and especially on MacOSX 
(there aren't any, or maybe only a few applications that allow you to controll 
these features). If this is the case, you can try to play with amount of 
filtering applied...

Kind regards,

Michal

Original comment by f.jo...@email.cz on 7 May 2014 at 6:08

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Hello,

Thanks for the response.
I don't have jumpy or unstable experience. I can perfectly control the view and 
this is amazing, considering the fact that I only use an integrated webcam. But 
the movements itself are a bit snatching. It doesn't jump in the opposite 
direction or unexpectedly long distances. It constantly moves where I want it 
to, but with small discrete steps, which looks a bit laggy. In comparison, when 
I use mouse to control view, I don't notice this.
Maybe you are right and it's all about camera framerate. I didn't found the 
technical details about my camera :)

Original comment by y.sn...@gmail.com on 7 May 2014 at 7:38

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Hello,
are you using a facetracker or a model based (LED/reflector cap/clip) tracker?
Kind regards,

Michal

Original comment by f.jo...@email.cz on 7 May 2014 at 7:41

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I'm using facetracker.

Original comment by y.sn...@gmail.com on 7 May 2014 at 7:43

[GoogleCodeExporter]

OK... Please see the facetracker troubleshooting section of the Tracker Setup 
section; in short - the filtration in the Device pane filters bigger jumps in 
the cost of introducing lag, while the filtration set on the Tracking setup tab 
does more fine smoothing. The key is to find the equilibrium between those 
two...
Kind regards,

Michal

Original comment by f.jo...@email.cz on 7 May 2014 at 8:50