Kinect Head Tracking

[Original Poster]

Hi guys,

I can't manage to set up the Kinect Head Tracking successfully at all.

I sit around 3 feet away from the TV and have the sensor on top, I also have a GT2 wheel and stand in front of me.

I tried several times yesterday to get it working well but couldn't manage it.

The warning at the bottom of the screen basically saying Kinect can't see me was almost always there.

Any tips at all as I've read people say it's amazing!

[Phil1]

From Wiki

"The Kinect sensor has a practical ranging limit of 1.2–3.5 m (3.9–11 ft) distance when used with the Xbox software"

[Original Poster]

Phil1 said:

From Wiki

"The Kinect sensor has a practical ranging limit of 1.2–3.5 m (3.9–11 ft) distance when used with the Xbox software"

That's the thing I have read plenty of people saying their head tracking works from as close as 2-3 feet without issues.

I have also tried going back to 7 foot or so to no avail.

[andrewrob]

How big is your head in relation to the square when you look at it on the head tracking menu in forza?

[vescaegg]

Tried this on my friends kinect the other day and to be honest, i dont think it works.

In real life you may well turn your head slightly to spot an apex correctly, but when looking at a screen you just need to move your eyes slightly.

In order to actually make the person on screen look into the corner you need to make a concious effort to move your head left or right but still sort of look straight ahead at the screen which is hard to do.

[andrewrob]

vescaegg said:

Tried this on my friends kinect the other day and to be honest, i dont think it works.

In real life you may well turn your head slightly to spot an apex correctly, but when looking at a screen you just need to move your eyes slightly.

In order to actually make the person on screen look into the corner you need to make a concious effort to move your head left or right but still sort of look straight ahead at the screen which is hard to do.

Depends how its set. I have the sensitivity set fairly high on mine. It works better if you pretend its not there, works better when you act naturally.

[Original Poster]

andrewrob said:

How big is your head in relation to the square when you look at it on the head tracking menu in forza?

I can't remember exactly however I'd say relatively small in comparison, is that correct?

[Phil1]

Original Poster said:

That's the thing I have read plenty of people saying their head tracking works from as close as 2-3 feet without issues.

I have also tried going back to 7 foot or so to no avail.

The Microsoft Kinect SDK enforces a 850mm minim distance cut-off due to loss of quality in the measurement. That's 2.8 feet. I would assume the code line for the XBox is effectively what they've exposed for the PC SDK.

[69 coupe]

I'm looking into getting one of these, when I'm finished decorating my room.
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/40458/nyko-zoom-ki...

[andrewrob]

Original Poster said:

I can't remember exactly however I'd say relatively small in comparison, is that correct?

If it goes pink then it can see your head, try to make sure your head is in the middle of the square rather than at the top or bottom otherwise it may start picking up your torso and showing that as pink instead.
Have you tried messing about with the background clipping?
Also what are you sat in? Some high backed chairs cause problem as it can't differentiate between your head and the chair back depending on colour.

[Webber3]

Have you got facial hair?

Kinect has problems with Mexican Wolf Boys

[Original Poster]

andrewrob said:

Original Poster said:

I can't remember exactly however I'd say relatively small in comparison, is that correct?

If it goes pink then it can see your head, try to make sure your head is in the middle of the square rather than at the top or bottom otherwise it may start picking up your torso and showing that as pink instead.
Have you tried messing about with the background clipping?
Also what are you sat in? Some high backed chairs cause problem as it can't differentiate between your head and the chair back depending on colour.

That's interesting, I don't sit on a high backed chair however there is one directly behind me (black as well) which may be confusing it.

Will give it another go tonight!

[andrewrob]

Original Poster said:

That's interesting, I don't sit on a high backed chair however there is one directly behind me (black as well) which may be confusing it.

Will give it another go tonight!

Ah right. In that case then, move the background clipping slider but make sure it can still see your head (bearing in mind that you may lean back when driving) you will probably be able to sort it out. Also lighting can be an issue although my living room is quite dark and it still works ok.

[rhinochopig]

I wouldn't bother TBH. I spent an hour fiddling with it out of curiosity and because I was sceptical about how it could work. My conclusion was that it's a gimmick. Think about it, if you move your head in real life you see another bit of the world. Move it away from the TV and you can't see the TV. It would only work if you were wearing a HMD type thing.

[Original Poster]

rhinochopig said:

I wouldn't bother TBH. I spent an hour fiddling with it out of curiosity and because I was sceptical about how it could work. My conclusion was that it's a gimmick. Think about it, if you move your head in real life you see another bit of the world. Move it away from the TV and you can't see the TV. It would only work if you were wearing a HMD type thing.

See I've read many reviews on forums saying how excellent it is, I think you can opt for more of a lean then actually moving your head from side to side, plus you can adjust the sensitivity so slight movements make a difference!

[andrewrob]

Original Poster said:

rhinochopig said:

I wouldn't bother TBH. I spent an hour fiddling with it out of curiosity and because I was sceptical about how it could work. My conclusion was that it's a gimmick. Think about it, if you move your head in real life you see another bit of the world. Move it away from the TV and you can't see the TV. It would only work if you were wearing a HMD type thing.

See I've read many reviews on forums saying how excellent it is, I think you can opt for more of a lean then actually moving your head from side to side, plus you can adjust the sensitivity so slight movements make a difference!

Yes as I said above I have mine set so its quite sensitive and there are separate adjustments for lean to so you do it without turning your head if you really want. Its good for me as I use the old force feedback xbox wheel which doesn't have an analogue stick for moving the view around.

[rhinochopig]

Original Poster said:

rhinochopig said:

I wouldn't bother TBH. I spent an hour fiddling with it out of curiosity and because I was sceptical about how it could work. My conclusion was that it's a gimmick. Think about it, if you move your head in real life you see another bit of the world. Move it away from the TV and you can't see the TV. It would only work if you were wearing a HMD type thing.

See I've read many reviews on forums saying how excellent it is, I think you can opt for more of a lean then actually moving your head from side to side, plus you can adjust the sensitivity so slight movements make a difference!

But then you are doing an odd head movement, which results in something that wouldn't happen in real life, and it ruins the fidelity.

I tried every setting from min to max (both vectors) and you either have to move your head a long way so you end up looking out of the corner of your eyes, or you have to sit very still as the slightest movement means your view changes - think about it, if you are racing for 10 minutes, you WILL move your head about to stop your neck going stiff.

It's a lovely idea, and even fun to try out for a few minutes, but it simply does not add to the fidelity of the driving experience. The FoV shown by the in-car view is sufficient to spot the clipping point in the next corner on pretty much every track. I'd bet most people end up turning it off.

[PumpkinSteve]

Kinect can't detect black people, are you black?

[Original Poster]

PumpkinSteve said:

Kinect can't detect black people, are you black?

Is that a joke?!

[PumpkinSteve]

Original Poster said:

Is that a joke?!

No, of course not. Google it.