That sinking feeling..

As you may know I have my Oculus tracking camera attached to my rig and have noticed since runtime 1.3 that after a while (especially noticeable in a F1 car where you sit so low) that I slowly sink in my seat to a point where I have to reset my center (I have it mapped to my Steering wheel). It seems to get worse the more roll that my rig has. I have built a rig to test this out and it seems that the new runtime for the CV1 is very susceptible to any camera/headset movements outside the norm which is a real shame for people with large movement sims like myself. Has anyone else notice this?

I had the opposite and I ended up above the cockpit in AC.

Have you secured the top of the camera so it cant tilt up and down ? I wrapped mine in tape and made it solid so it cant move at all in any direction which I have not properly tested yet.

Yes, have tried two different mounting systems which do not allow it to move at all. Everything works perfectly apart from having to reset the center now and then due to it drifting down. Really seems to be an issue with the new CV1 runtimes - tested with my old DK2 and have the same result on the new runtime. Mount Camera off rig - no drifting down.

If you mount the camera off your rig is the experience still the same in terms of tracking? I ask, as I am wondering where to mount the camera when I get my Rift. I'm thinking I may actually put it on the roof, pointing down and at me (similar to a theatre spotlight)

IMO - With a 6DOF that can move around a bit, having the tracking camera off rig can really break 'presence' as you can also see the 'Translational' movements (surge/sway) of the rig which feels un-natural. Recommend you try both and make your own decision.

FI, I'm having some success removing the drifting by mounting the tracking camera on a simple gimbal, will update when finished (have ordered some specialised parts for the final solution).

Fixed! - fitted the tracking camera to a 2 axis servo controlled camera gimbal (designed for a GoPro Camera) - disconnected the Pitch motor as it seems to not be the problem DOF, drove around in a formula car for over 30 minutes - no more sinking .

Good news !! Ya got a link and info how to do it matey ??

It's a two axis gimbal off Ebay - delivered from Melbourne Australia around $50 - designed for a quad copter/GOPRO. Came ready to go. Mounted it to a bracket fixed to my rig where my camera normally goes. Connected 12vdc to power it and pulled the pitch motor plug off the control board as you don't want, or need it - then have to fix the pitch axis so that it stays level. Mount/balance the tracking camera, turn on the power, it self calibrates and then is ready to go. As the rig rolls it will keep only that camera axis level.

Thanks @SeatTime

I nearly ordered one of those a year ago but never got round to it. Glad to know it works, will have to look at getting one soon

I did not need it with the DK2 runtime, it has only been a issue with the CV1 runtime. Oculus obviously change something.

Is this solution, the gimbal, still valid?!

I'm still using it, no problems since I installed it with sinking. Don't know if the issue has been fixed since in the runtime - although if you are having the issue now, obviously not.

I tried to set the camera in the center of the rig, but still have the same sinking issue.. I can confirm that if I disable the roll movement the camera stays in the correct position.. So I have ordered me a 2 axis gimble and will set this up and retest it.. I hope I have it here at Wednesday!!. Will write up as soon as I've tested it!

Thanks again for the finding!!

I can confirm that it works.. I still have a minimal sink, but way less then before .. but that is a matter of further tuning.. perhaps I have a bit to much vibration on the rig..
and perhaps I should remove the antivibration balls in the gimbal frame..

Just to update this thread, seems the latest CV1 software update may have made the camera even more susceptible to movement. While using AeroFly 2 I've recently had to enable the pitch axis to stop miss tracking in that plane. Not an ideal solution, but it still works better than a stationary camera for my sim.

Hey guys, I'm going to get my first rides on my 6DOF this week unless something goes wrong, and I've already got the same gimbal to deal with this as much as possible.

What I have for you all is a question: Where is your camera mounted in relation to you, and in relation to the roll center of the sim? I'm wondering how much this would be affected by those factors.

Post your camera mounting height relative to yourself and your platform's roll center and how much trouble you have with sinking.

Thanks!

I have it mounted just beside the steering wheel .. I had no other options as I wanted it to be as near the roll center as possible.. I looks u p slight bit ..

I guess first I should have asked if anyone knows what exactly is causing roll motion to create sinking POV. I cant make any sense of it. My request still stands though, let's see if different camera mounting positions make this more or less severe.