OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing • Hacker News Board

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#21

Post by dybber » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 1:10 PM UTC

Saris wrote: post #19

cubefox wrote: post #9

Wouldn't it be better to use head tracking to get the position of the head relative to the monitor, so the monitor behaves like a window? Like in Johnny Lee's classic Wii demo [1]. The way it currently works (rotating the view upon head rotation) doesn't really make sense because a monitor is not a head mounted display. 1: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

If it behaved like a window you wouldn't be able to look beside or behind yourself in game, this type of setup is used a lot for sim games.

But if you look behind yourself your head is pointing away from the screen.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#22

Post by Foxhuls » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 1:12 PM UTC

dybber wrote: post #21

Saris wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it behaved like a window you wouldn't be able to look beside or behind yourself in game, this type of setup is used a lot for sim games.

But if you look behind yourself your head is pointing away from the screen.

Typically people don’t use 1:1 movement when using something like this. It’s a much higher ratio so you only have to slightly move your head to look around. It allows you to do it quicker but also avoids exactly what you’re describing.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#23

Post by Saris » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC

dybber wrote: post #21

Saris wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it behaved like a window you wouldn't be able to look beside or behind yourself in game, this type of setup is used a lot for sim games.

But if you look behind yourself your head is pointing away from the screen.

It's not a 1:1 link with these, turning your head only slightly is enough to look behind in game.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#24

Post by PetitPrince » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 1:25 PM UTC

Saris wrote: post #18

itsthecourier wrote: post #2

when your head move, and with it your eyes, you move what's in front of them to your perspective inside the simulation, just as VR works but in this case it is detrimental because the screen is fixed, the natural behavior would be not to move it or at least do very little with it like a parallax the current demo would cause nausea after a moment

Tons of people use head tracking like this via TrackIR and similar setups, it's quite common for space or air sim games.

And even with milsim FPS, as those blog posts from more than 10 years ago shows: https://dslyecxi.com/category/trackir/

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#25

Post by epaga » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 2:41 PM UTC

hyperific wrote: post #13

Also check out the SmoothTrack mobile app. Same use case but the compute is done on a phone instead of the gaming machine. Head position data can be sent over local network or USB.

Hey! Thanks for recommending this!! That’s my app. :) pushing the tracking work off to the phone is helpful for freeing up resources on the computer.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#26

Post by simpaticoder » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

epaga wrote: post #25

hyperific wrote: post #13

Also check out the SmoothTrack mobile app. Same use case but the compute is done on a phone instead of the gaming machine. Head position data can be sent over local network or USB.

Hey! Thanks for recommending this!! That’s my app. :) pushing the tracking work off to the phone is helpful for freeing up resources on the computer.

Is there specialized face/head tracking hardware on phones like there is on DSLR cameras?

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#27

Post by iamjackg » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC

It would be cool to use something like this or openfov to control OBS to automatically switch between different cameras/scenes when you turn your head. Either multiple cameras, or switching between screenshare/camera if you look directly into the camera.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#28

Post by epaga » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC

simpaticoder wrote: post #26

epaga wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey! Thanks for recommending this!! That’s my app. :) pushing the tracking work off to the phone is helpful for freeing up resources on the computer.

Is there specialized face/head tracking hardware on phones like there is on DSLR cameras?

Yes indeed - ARCore on Android, ARKit on iPhone - AR optimizations are crazy good.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#29

Post by simpaticoder » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 2:57 PM UTC

dybber wrote: post #21

Saris wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it behaved like a window you wouldn't be able to look beside or behind yourself in game, this type of setup is used a lot for sim games.

But if you look behind yourself your head is pointing away from the screen.

Not necessarily if you've got a curved ultra-wide display. Combine this with some rotation factor and you can look around while still looking at the screen.

Re: OpenFOV – Webcam head tracking for iRacing

#30

Post by cubefox » Tue, Jun 02, 2026, 3:22 PM UTC

Mashimo wrote: post #14

cubefox wrote: post #9

Wouldn't it be better to use head tracking to get the position of the head relative to the monitor, so the monitor behaves like a window? Like in Johnny Lee's classic Wii demo [1]. The way it currently works (rotating the view upon head rotation) doesn't really make sense because a monitor is not a head mounted display. 1: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

> The way it currently works doesn't really make sense And yet, sim players are using it. Players want to use small headmovements to simulate large head movements ingame. It seems to work.

Wouldn't it be much more convenient then to buy a VR headset which actually follows your head movements because it's physically head mounted? Not to mention that it provides a stereoscopic view of the scenery. I guess the price is a hurdle.