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/alex_inzo]

Hello there, just tested it. The camera movement is not smooth and a little bit laggy despite 150+FPS on my rtx5070. Had to recalibrate cam in game as when i launched the sim camera look somewhere down to the right

[u/alex_inzo → u/alex_inzo]

Upd found performance settings. Switched to quality. Smoothness increased but freezes were added. How to increase turn head angle?

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31 → u/alex_inzo]

Yo! Thanks for giving it a try. I added some performance tips in the main post that may help - I'm working on a fix for the compute issues in the next version!

To increase the turn head angle, increase the sensitivity. This gives more FOV adjustment with less real-life head movement.

[u/alex_inzo → u/YogurtclosetCrafty31]

Where to subscribe to get updates?

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31 → u/alex_inzo]

Right now, the best place is to “watch” the GitHub repo, where new releases will notify you.

If the project expands, I will create a newsletter of sorts, but for now the GitHub is the most up-to-date.

[u/alex_inzo → u/YogurtclosetCrafty31]

Btw my first guess reading performance is fps difference of web cam and monitor refresh rate

[u/YogurtclosetCrafty31 → u/alex_inzo]

Yes, any fps <30 in OpenFOV will be a bit choppy - note: OpenFOV can perform updates up to the frame rate of your webcam. (As fast as the camera itself can capture updates)

v0.2.0 releasing later today with performance improvements - I hope it helps!