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Low cost head motion

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by lap345, Oct 27, 2016.

  1. lap345

    lap345 New Member

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    Hi all,

    My current rig is not as impressive as most of those on this site but it offers a low cost entry point and still adds a heap to the immersion of sim racing.

    Instead of being a full body motion rig, it simply moves your head via a helmet. As a result it can be powered by low cost RC servos.

    My setup consists of a longitudinal motor giving a push/pull under acceleration and braking, and a second motor for lateral motion via wire (actually fishing line at the moment!)

    Rather than trying to explain any more, here are a few pics. It looks a bit strange but works well.

    When I made this I didn't even realise that SimTools existed. It works directly from the Assetto Corsa Python API so it is currently limited to AC. Sounds like SimTools is a better way to go though so I'll have to convert at some stage.

    Total cost for this build was under AU$100.

    20161020_225539.jpg Screenshot_2016-10-27-21-41-03.png 20160830_201712.jpg
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  2. PiaMan

    PiaMan Active Member

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    Interesting idea and I'm sure it would add immersion. I would want to make sure the motors were working at their max as I can't imagine what an off track experience would feel like being yanked by my head.
  3. lap345

    lap345 New Member

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    That's a common thought but in fact the off track experience is not harsh at all since the motion is limited by the speed/force/travel of the motor.
    Where it adds benefit is in helping regulate your braking/throttle application since you get more feedback than simply a visual cue. That would apply to most motion rigs I guess.
  4. sasystem

    sasystem New Member

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    This never had occurred to me. I am impressed by the new ideas that appear every day. Great job. :thumbs
  5. RufusDufus

    RufusDufus Well-Known Member

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    Nice experiment.

    Have you tried it with springs in the lines so your head can actually move/resist the force being applied, I think it might be more natural. Ideally I would suggest this type of setup would work better with torque feedback (like in a wheel) rather than position feedback motor control but that probably makes it a little more complex and expensive.

    Anyway congrats for getting something up and running within your budget. Enjoy. :thumbs
  6. lap345

    lap345 New Member

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    Thanks for your comments!

    I agree that torque/force control will probably feel better. It crossed my mind when I was planning this out but I already had enough of a learning curve to deal with at the time. Might be time to revisit that now. Can you suggest a practical way of doing that? Maybe inserting a tension load cell in the line to feedback to the arduino?
  7. RufusDufus

    RufusDufus Well-Known Member

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    Well starting simple cut your fishing line and insert a spring (or rubber bands) on each line and see what effect it has. Its not true torque control but might give you an idea if the exercise is worth the effort. Change the spring/number of rubber bands to change the effect.

    To do torque control I would say the easiest is to find a suitable dc motor. Instead of worrying about position control (like with your servo) you drive the motor with variable current (usually via PWM) the higher the current the higher the torque. If you have the motor sized/geared right it will turn until the resisting force balances out the driving torque. A crude assumption is the PWM duty is proportional to the current and works reasonably well.

    A medium size 12 dc toy motor ?may? produce enough torque to wind your fishing line on a small diameter bobbin (the smaller the diameter the more force you will produce). Its all experimentation from there as I haven't tried it.

    Check this for inspiration - I think they are just using position control as well though... and I doubt their's was under $100.

  8. lap345

    lap345 New Member

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    Thanks for the ideas, I think I'll try the rubber band option soon.

    I've come across that Frex system on YouTube as well. A touch more refined than my build! There's also this one which features sprung cables. (Hope the link works)

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  9. getti

    getti Currently building my first 2dof seat mover...

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    I love it, cool idea. Good luck!
  10. Jumping Coin

    Jumping Coin Member Gold Contributor

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    Wow, excellent implementation! Not sure if thread is still maintained, but how do you keep the system from tugging on the chin straps?
  11. Gadget999

    Gadget999 Well-Known Member

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    What happens when you crash ? Does it have a filter ?
  12. Jumping Coin

    Jumping Coin Member Gold Contributor

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    I'm not the OP, but he mentioned "...in fact the off track experience is not harsh at all since the motion is limited by the speed/force/travel of the motor".
  13. lap345

    lap345 New Member

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    I didn't expect to get any more comments after so long!
    Thanks. I didn't expect to get any more comments after so long!
    I'm not using the device at the moment as I've switched chairs and never got around to adjusting how it mounts. The plan was to rebuild using a different approach to deal with some of the shortcomings but haven't go around to it. I'm starting to look into it now though.
    Are you looking at trying something similar?
    Even with it's shortcomings, it actually proved to be very immersive. I would actually say it was more effective at replicating the sensation of acceleration and braking better than any motion platform I've tried.
    The main immersion breaker is the fact that it's displacement controlled. Under constant acceleration you get an initial impulse force, but if you allow your head to move, the force disappears. In reality you experience a sustained force. A force controlled system should fix this but I haven't had the time to do it. It would be great to see others try out this sort of concept and learn from their experiences.
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  14. Jumping Coin

    Jumping Coin Member Gold Contributor

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    Hi,
    Thanks for sharing such an ingenious design! Yes, I implemented something similar, although I haven't posted it yet in my build thread (https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...ct-for-beginners-no-power-tools-needed.15307/), but I hope to soon.

    Inspired by your design, I just hooked a servo up to a cheap elastic headband. On acceleration and a tiny bit of heave, it pulls my head back. Since the headband is elastic, it stretches slightly, forcing me to engage my neck muscles a bit. As you have said, the travel is too short to cause injury, and the result is sustained force since the elastic stretches. Since it's just a simple headband, it easily fits under a VR headset. Also, believe it or not, engaging my neck muscles has really helped me tremendously in dealing with VR motion sickness! Thanks again!
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2021
  15. lap345

    lap345 New Member

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    Great to hear that you and others are making use of this concept as I think it's really promising. And it doesn't need to cost much to be effective. That's really interesting about the motion sickness. I'm waiting for gpu prices to settle before upgrading my PC and then getting into VR.