Open-Source head-tracking software for iRacing!

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31]

Hey all! Sharing an open-source software I built for my iRacing setup called OpenFOV. I've made it easy, free, and open source, so feel free to download and use it yourself.

I find sim-racing great for training racecraft, but I always develop "bad eye habits" from being boxed-in by my monitor's FOV. I find this to be a huge disparity between iRacing and real seat time. I could splurge for VR, but headsets are pricey and uncomfortable. They don't play well with glasses, either...

I saw a few demonstrations of hack-together tools and get a "head-tracking FOV" with a webcam to look around in-game. It was a bit annoying to set up and didn't offer much customization, but for what it was, it made a big improvement to my monitor setup.

So, (with the help of AI), I just went ahead and built an iRacing native software from scratch! I also cooked up a complete suite of customization options, so you can nerd out and really dial it in for your specific setup.

Hoping to gather some initial feedback from the community! So, if you have an old webcam lying around, dig it out, dust it off, and give this a try!

I'm physically limited to testing on my own setup, so please feel free to report any bugs or issues on the GitHub so I can get you up and running! :)

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Edit: Thank you for all the feedback so far!! 😁 Today, I released v0.2.1, which addresses a lot of the feedback I received over the past 24 hours. Keep it up!

Some general tips + info:
- OpenFOV CPU-bound, so if you're struggling with lag, try to raise the program's priority on your computer! Task Manager > Right Click on OpenFOV > Go to Details > Right Click on OpenFOV > Set Priority > High (0.2.1 should have this by default!)
- If you still find lag with the fps listed on the UI (< 30fps while running), then try lowering your iRacing settings a bit to reduce the load!
- OpenFOV can only publish values to iRacing at the speed of your camera's FPS, so higher FPS webcams look smoother! (I tried interpolating more frames using velocity, but it doesn't look good!)

Feel free to message me with any issues. Happy racing!!

[u/ReisBayer]

im not really a fan of something like that. headtracking makes you look away from the screen ans you have to awkwardly "side eye" the Monitor.

and i dont want to risk giving away biometric data. maybe not now but Hacks/malicious Updates are always a possibility.

if i want headtracking id get a vr headset. if i want to see more (what i want), i will get a widescreen when my budget allows it

[u/FakeSolaire → u/ReisBayer]

What a waste of a comment

[u/ReisBayer → u/FakeSolaire]

lmao just because i am voicing my own opinion and am open to discuss? if you dont want dicusssions go on tiktok or instagram

[u/FakeSolaire → u/ReisBayer]

Debate me!!!!

[u/ReisBayer → u/FakeSolaire]

i already brought my arguments in my First comment. im serious i dont understand what the issue is with voicing concerns/having a different opinion? if i sounded overly harsh then im sorry. im just Not a fan of all the ai vibecoded tools that appear over the last months that have questionable data security according to the gdpr.

[u/FakeSolaire → u/ReisBayer]

Okay, i will give you a serious answer:

Your first post it did not come across as feedback/discussion, as it was mostly about telling why you would not use the app, because you don't like headtracking. It reads as "I want you to know that i don't like what you built". Why say that? It's useless info for OP, because you clearly aren't the audience they aim for. That bugged me, it felt rude and needlessly dismissive, so that's why i reacted that way.

I understand the safety/privacy concerns, though. They shared the code on github and afaik, it was open source, so there's that, but yeah, it's still kind of vibecoding, so i get what you mean.

[u/ReisBayer → u/FakeSolaire]

thats completely fair. english isnt my native language and it seems i sometimes dont word it that well that it reads differently than i mean it. but thank you for your Genuine answer :)