Student demos clever head-tracking

By Robert Purchese Published 2 July, 2009

Tech shows peering, zooming, turning.

An Australian student has been showing off several accomplished head-tracking demonstrations using videogames.

Using Valve's Source engine, Toben Sko can peer around corners by tilting his head, zoom by moving closer to the screen, rotate the camera by turning his head and produce a gun-sight by posturing as if aiming down the barrel of a gun.

The video can be found on YouTube, noticed first by PushingPlay before being picked up by Joystiq.

His work furthers that of folks like internet star Johnny Lee - now a part of the Xbox Natal team.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Triggerhappytel #1 3 years ago

    Torben Sko, EG - quick; change it before anyone notices!

    Looks good, and it might work well complimenting kb&m, rather than in place of. I saw this video on YouTube last week though, and I think the tech here is potentially a lot more interesting:

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=7Ym0tZSWGMc

  • SeesThroughAll #2 3 years ago

    I loved the YouTube video. This is truly great stuff.
    Nevermind the applications in games: there's a lot of underused technology that could dramatically improve user interface in today's computers. Built-in webcams could be used to manipulate windows and objects with your hands, in any laptop.
    The technology is all already here, it's all a matter of developing the software that will allow these things.

  • SeesThroughAll #3 3 years ago

    @ Triggerhappytel:

    That one is interesting too! Make it work wirelessly, and you'd have a whole new approach to paintball ;)

  • daz_john_smith #4 3 years ago

    Similar tech already available for PC and compatible with games like ArmA2. Video Link
    Thx to Wastelander for the link, from the Natal forum thread
    Edited by 1 at 02/07/09 @ 12:25

  • the_dudefather #5 3 years ago

    Looks pretty cool

    Suppose this shows how natal could work for regualr games, use a normal controller but with optional wierd motion enhancements for actions like that

  • Kenshin001 #6 3 years ago

    Looks pointless. I don't want to be jerking my head around like a spaz while playing games.

  • Jonathan_Fakenham #7 3 years ago

    This is how Natal should be used in FPS games.
    Halo "Reach" anyone?

  • kangarootoo #8 3 years ago

    @Triggerhappytel

    Now that game gun is brilliant.



    @Kenshin001

    /sigh

    If a game requires you to "jerk your head around like a spaz", then it is a badly designed game. Again, concept gets confused with an example of bad implemenation and the whole thing gets written off.

    There are plenty of ways that this technology could be used effectively to improve a game experience. Just because you can't think of them, doesn't mean they don't exist.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #9 3 years ago

    Halo "Reach" anyone?

    If anyone's seen the video of how Microsoft's Usability Labs helped refine joypad FPS controls for the original Halo (I think it's only shown to xbox licensees and dev teams), then they will be quite excited about the prospect of Halo Reach doing the same for integrating head tracking etc.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #10 3 years ago

    The best thing about the Game Gun is the crazy Will Ferrell / Jon Heder manchild character demonstrating it.

  • Iain815 #11 3 years ago

    I think this is brilliant.

  • NoseBagUK #12 3 years ago

    I got a TrackIR yesterday for playing ARMA 2. Took me about an hour to get in to it, now it feels completely normal. Can't wait for Natal, FPS's are going to be great.

  • marilena #13 3 years ago

    Kanga, I've seen this argument before, but, to be honest, it really doesn't look like there are many good ways to use this kind of system. The technology for this has been possible for quite some time, but there just aren't that many good applications of it.

    If you look at Minority Report and the Minority Report inspired interface in Quantum of Solace, it's quite obvious that a mouse would have been much more useful.

    The only use for this that I've seen so far is in flight simulator games, where they use this to move the view around the plane. It helps immersion, which those sim geeks loooove, and it also makes things slightly easier for them, since a flight sim has so many controls already. The ArmA 2 link above is an example, and I think with ArmA they already took it someplace where it's not of much use.

    Edit: Nosebag above just contradicted my statement about ArmA and TrackIR. But I bet he's a sim geek :p.
    Edited by 2 at 02/07/09 @ 13:49

  • Stormflood #14 3 years ago

    I'd like to know how this works for people, like me, who don't sit directly in front of a screen. What about the majority of people who have a TV in a corner, and sit a distance across the room, not face on. Not a criticism, but devices that rely on the suitability of your enviroment and position fail where the traditional controller succeeds. These issues, among many others, need addressing.

  • matrim83 #15 3 years ago

    I love how some of the motions are natural and almost instinctive.

    I do a lot of them with just a gamepad when playing FPS's. Eg. streching my neck when I zoom in with a weapon, tilting my head when I peer around corners.

  • SEVQA #16 3 years ago

    I find the video to be clear and informative - very interesting indeed thanks for the link(s) EG.

    "There are plenty of ways that this technology could be used effectively to improve a game experience." This is what worries me as the exact same thing could be said for the new PS3 eyetoy which is so underused if not just for quirks within games. The exact same fate will manifest itself for Natal and the PS3 wand I suspect if the attach rate is not great enough to encourage support. I optimistically hope I'm wrong about the attach rate for both Natal, wand and eyetoy over the coming years as I'm really excited about the possibilities and it would seem R & D tool programmers are to.
    Edited by 1 at 02/07/09 @ 14:11

  • TruSmiles #17 3 years ago

    The technology would only work if the head movements felt natural. Sometimes a lot of these motion controls can feel incredibly counter-intuitive, which harms the immersion of games. But get it right, and you shouldn't even notice it at all.

  • GreyBeard #18 3 years ago

    I think its quite interesting that the approaches Sony and MS are taking with this type of technology are the direct opposites to their general hardware philosophies this gen.

    For example, with Natal MS are presenting an all-in-one (full-body) solution, whereas Sony's approach is more incremental.

    For example, head-tracking can be done using a regular webcam, or eyetoy. If you check out the FaceAPI promo on youtube they actually mention Sony demonstrating this tech at GDC in 2008. The wands expand this to provide high-accuracy manual controls in addition to the normal camera-scan functions.

  • JensonJet #19 3 years ago

    On console first person shooters, I'm in either two positions.. laying down on the sofa, or sat leaning forward, arms resting on my thighs. Head tracking wouldn't suit either position for me. However, I think hand tracking could be utilised in reaching, grabbing, picking up stuff and using in-game keyboards and the like. The problem I have with head tracking (apart from the fact it's either not possible or awkward for either of the positions I play in) is that it's not responsive enough. I'm convinced an average gamer with a little experience in shooters would still have far more control , speed and accuracy using thumbsticks and buttons. But I guess this is to controls where the original Doom game was to first person shooters all those years ago. Perhaps within 10 years this might be a feasible option, but currently I think anyone attempting to be competitive against people using thumbsticks, buttons, keyboards or mice wouldn't stand much chance.

  • kangarootoo #20 3 years ago

    @marilena

    "The technology for this has been possible for quite some time, but there just aren't that many good applications of it."

    That is awlays the way with new technology. At some point it matures, or the required peripheral gets a decent installed base, or whatever. Saying "its not happened yet" is no reason that it won't happen now or in the future. Rarely anything in games happens perfectly and in a widespread way on its first outgoing. A slowburner is no bad thing if we get to the good stuff in the end.


    "If you look at Minority Report and the Minority Report inspired interface in Quantum of Solace, it's quite obvious that a mouse would have been much more useful. "

    I've not seen the QoS implementation of this. Is it the same thing? It could simply be (as I keep referring to) that they simply did a bad job of implementing a good idea.


    @Stormflood

    Surely just pointing your camera at you, wherever you choose to sit, is what is important. As for the "not face on" thing, I bet your face is face on (if you get my meaning). I doubt you play games squinting out of the side of your eyes. And the system appears to be able to deal with a certain amount of "side-on" viewing of the face. Plus any developer that didn't include calibration routines in a game that used this would be mental.

  • kangarootoo #21 3 years ago

    @JensonJet

    "On console first person shooters, I'm in either two positions.. laying down on the sofa, or sat leaning forward, arms resting on my thighs. Head tracking wouldn't suit either position for me."

    Really? I'm not saying it would work, but I think it is a little early to make strong assumptions about the limits of this system. The video we have all seen showed the face tracking to be quite robust, so I don't see why it couldn't cope with the a face that is resting at an angle. The only key issue is making sure you can zero whatever position the face is in when it is "at rest", and like I said my previous post, a calibration routine should be standard.

  • NoseBagUK #22 3 years ago

    @marilena Nah not a "... sim geek :p." just a gadget freak with no money sense :-)

  • Kosumo #23 3 years ago

    Won't this mean we'll all get RSI in our necks?

    I love this idea and want it to work a lot but looking around while your eyes are fixed forward to a screen is a bit a annoying, I reckon my eyes will end up going with my head to look around for it to be comfortable. That VR Game Gun Triggerhappytel linked to is excellent! I'd buy one.

  • Bremenacht #24 3 years ago

    "Using Valve's Source engine, "

    :o

    It should be free DLC then. Valve are greedy - this is just a mod which someone else wrote and they're making big profits out of it and I never liked it anyway 'cos I don't like it and -oh-
    Wrong thread.
    Sorry.

  • Bremenacht #25 3 years ago

    Great tech. One nice by-product of this (and Natal, and to a lesser extent Wii/PS3) is that it'll open up more gaming (and other stuff) to people with disabilities that prevent use of KB+M or game pads.

  • Chazmeister #26 3 years ago

    So it's basically like TrackIR but without all the expensive junk, looks good.

    Oh the chap does mention in the YouTube comments that his head movements were exagerated for the video demonstration.

    My only concern with all this body tracking technology, is that were going to have to sit really still whilst playing games. Or else scratching your head or fidgeting about getting comfy on the sofa will mess up your game.

  • Pjurte #27 3 years ago

    I thought it lagged a bit. I'll hold on to my TrackIR. Yes I'm a sim geek...