Legacy - General Discussion

[mrmillz]

Hi,

was wondering if any of you kind chaps have any sort of software drivers for this old device?

Got hold of it but cannot find any sort of drivers anywhere. Even DOS drivers would be a start.I really dont expect anyone has written any DInput VXD/WDM drivers for it, but that would be fantastic. I would even pay for them!

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[mrmillz]

Update! VRDepot replied at last to my emails, and supplied me with uncompiled source code for a DOS driver, plus some DOS test programs. Am still holding hope for some more modern drivers!

[Peter_D]

Hello mrmillz,

WOW, you actually got hold of one of these! I have only seen one of these in the "museum areas" at Logitech itself.

However, as for drivers, virtually what you have right now, it basically, what is available. As of modern drivers, there are sadly none.

[mrmillz]

Hi Peter_D,

I have been searching very hard lately, and have managed to find a game that supports the head tracker! Its called Space Rocks and was made by Tom Payne with the WorldToolKit by Sense8.Will let you know if that works soon.

Apparently, there is also a 'Logitech Red Baron' (which looks like another name for the Ultrasonic head tracker?!) version of doom and hexen written by Shawn Knight from what used to be 3space, but I cannot find these versions anywhere.

As for the drivers and test programs that I have been mailed...

Have built a P3 rig with W98Se installed purely for the headtracker (and stereoscopic 3D drivers as I also have the Virtual I-O HMD glasses). The test3d and simple3d Dos test programs do not seem to recognise the head tracker whatever port or baud rate I set (possibly they are for the Logitech 3D mouse only?). 

As for the uncompiled drivers, I will try to get hold of an early version of Microsoft C compiler, and try to build them at some point to see what happens!

Hopefully, someone will come to the rescue soon!

[Peter_D]

Hi mrmillz,

I checked with a colleague, who has been with Logitech for a long time, and unfortunately, he did not have anything usefull either.

The reason also being, is that the Head Tracker was never sold as a direct retail product, but a business product, meaning that we would deliver drivers and software in source code format and you would have to build your own solution around it.

As for what you have explained you already have, it seems, that you have everything you need to get going.

[mrmillz]

Hi Peter_D,

Yeah, I pretty much figured it was going to be like that. Was really trying to find someone who had programmed something for it, or knew of someone who had.

Its funny that VR Depot (who bought the rights to produce the head tracker from Logitech) dont offer any other software solutions, as apparently it is still being sold by them for £1500 or whatever.

    Considering that you only get some uncompiled C code drivers for DOS if you were to buy one, this seems a bit lacking to me?...

[Peter_D]

Well, if all you get is just uncompiled C code, it should - if you have the experience - be easy enough to port into Windows. Get hold of Visual C++ and a good book and start from scratch. Look at the used classes and try to port them over one by one, if they do not exist. You may need to write one or two drivers, to get it working also.

no one, said this was going to be easy. now-a-days, I have personally also seen better systems and much easier systems to use, fx. using a webcam and colorcoded control points or objects and then use those to navigate with.

[mrmillz]

Thanks for the encouragement Peter. I can actually code in a few languages, but writing a windows device driver is a pretty difficult task.

That said, it may be what I have to do in the end.(Will find a good WDM book)

The webcam tracker approach is good, but this ultrasonic tracker seems better on paper....

This isnt going to be simple is it? LOL