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/sonryhater]

I’m gonna be honest. I’ve tried similar software and in practice it does not work. The issue is that while your eyes and head are changing direction, your screen is not, so you are moving your head to the side of the monitor limiting your view and your monitors view shifts as well causing a ton of disorientation. In a plane or helicopter I could see this be amazing, but tracking the apex of a corner and then looking in the distance is a sure fire way to immediately wreck.

This does not work at all for racing. Try it if you think I’m wrong. It’s really bad

[u/JohnFromSpace3 → u/sonryhater]

Ive been testing opentracks for a few weeks now and experienced the same. The way I get it to work is: limit the movement a lot. Go into mapping and have max set st 15-20 degrees. Then but a little delay. Then add smoothness and deadzone in op options. Add a center view keybind on your steer.

Then test the track and car for a few laps. The point about op racing vs flying is in an airplane its no problem to miss a few meters here or there. In a car you need to know every inch it goes and how much. In the end the only extra value of head tracking is to slightly add some peripheral vision for overtaking cars or see beyond a pillar. The trick really is to limit the yaw axis very vert much. That way each time you do get a bit of disorientation, its easy to get back. Also figure out the corners that are the most difficult and try to learn your lines. As long as you know how to take that corner, a little disorientation is no problem.

Im gonna try this software as i still hesitate a lot going into triple. I really think the eyetracking shoukd be approached as a very mild addition, not the sight seeing tour movement.