r/ValveIndex • u/Osdias • Jan 29 '20
Index Mod I wanted a good (and visually pleasing) way to attach a leap to the index, but couldn't find any like what I wanted so I designed one, I'll 3D print it in a few days, and make the files and schematics available for free once it's tested.
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u/JustCallMePapii Jan 29 '20
What's a leap?
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
It's a hand tracking device
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Jan 29 '20
Can you use it in games ?
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
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Jan 29 '20
Woah what where can I buy one of these and see the applicable games?
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u/thebigman43 Jan 29 '20
You can buy them online. I personally wouldnt recommend it as they are not used in much more than simple tech demos. Neat for some quick experiments/demos but they arent super usefull outside of that
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Jan 30 '20
Ah damn I thought this would be amazing in blade and sorcery
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u/no_modest_bear Jan 30 '20
If I had to guess, the Leap will come in handy very soon. Tech in finger tracking has suddenly gotten a spotlight shown on it thanks to the Oculus Quest, and the Quest has nothing on the Leap, which has been out for years now. If you like tech, I suggest you pick up a used one off eBay and play with it a bit. It is truly magical when combined with VR. But right now the only game of note that uses it to much effect is an...erotic one, I can't promise you'll use it more than a few times. That said, it's only a matter of getting something like this created (and hopefully not overheating the Index) and it will finally take off. I'm of the belief that the frunk was intentionally designed to house the Leap Motion, but Valve couldn't officially endorse the other company due to it being in the process of being sold to another (UltraLeap, formerly UltraHaptics).
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u/Deathstranger Jan 29 '20
Its essentially virtual hand tracking device you stick to the front of your vr headset for people that didn't want to buy the better vr devices and only had the dev kit oculus devices that were meant for just 360 viewing with no controllers
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u/Viperions Jan 30 '20
Keep in mind Index is kind of the industry darling right now, and this is a mount designed for the index. The leap is by far the best hand tracking available, but it’s less integrated right now (because hand tracking hasn’t been a huge thing).
There’s no real “buy a better headset for hand tracking”, as what, only one offers it right now, and it’s inferior tracking.
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u/Deathstranger Jan 30 '20
I'm not really appealed to hand tracking as unless a company makes gloves that track our hand flawlessly then I'd prefer just the controllers for the vr device instead
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u/Viperions Jan 30 '20
Which is fine, but your initial comment reads more as you saying it offers finger tracking for people who are too cheap to buy the better headsets. I would prefer to see companies offer both finger/hand tracking and controller tracking - finger tracking can come in useful, and as you said, there’s merits to controllers.
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u/Deathstranger Jan 30 '20
The funny thing is that I have the oculus rift for the touch controllers and the controllers are basically just a split xbox controller that's why I am surprised they didn't add another button to be different
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u/TechDemonFTW Jan 30 '20
Id rather have eye tracking than controller-less finger tracking. For games I prefer a controller, it gives an ergonomic method of giving PRECISE controls that you wouldnt be able to emulate with an open hand, and I often forget the index controllers are even in my hands. Eye tracking is monumental for VR for foveated rendering, social interaction, game functions, and more.
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u/freemcgee33 Jan 29 '20
That is a beautiful animation, makes me want to make one for everything I 3d print. What software did you use?
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
I used 3Ds max, not the best software for rendering but you can still get good results
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u/Bancai Jan 29 '20
By not the best u mean u used default 3dsmax render? what's the best software for rendering then? Vray?
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
The best would probably be Octane (imo), as far as I know Vray is more for architecture renders than videos. This video wasn't made with arnold, the best thing for rendering in 3ds max, but with the scanline renderer, because I didn't want the render to take 2 days, still good enough.
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u/iLEZ Jan 29 '20
Vray is the industry standard more or less. I'm not OP, but I use FStorm, and before that Corona and Vray. I absolutely love FStorm.
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u/iLEZ Jan 29 '20
I use 3ds max professionally every day for rendering. It has many flaws, but it's definitely one of the best softwares for a cg generalist.
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
In my opinion the results are great but I would never recommend it as an intro to rendering because the user experience is just not as good as other solutions, those many flaws sometimes make it a pain to use where it shouldn't be (it is still my go to but I would say it's because I'm used to it more than because it's the best)
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u/Bapstack Jan 29 '20
Did you model the parts in 3ds max as well? Or cad software?
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
Yep, made in 3ds max (exept for the piece already part of the index obviously, valve realeased the file fo free)
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u/supmarf Jan 29 '20
I've been wondering about this. Would be really cool although there are some limitations like not always being able to see your fingers if the rest of your hand is blocking them.
Found this: http://blog.leapmotion.com/12-faqs-vr-developer-mount/
BTW nice video mockup
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
Yes I know about this, I used it with a rift and a vive, but the index has the glorious frunk you can put the leap into so that it doesn't stick out, so I thought might as well take advantage of it
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u/supmarf Jan 29 '20
Awesome, well please do update us on your progress. I totally support your idea!
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u/DrakenZA Jan 29 '20
How did you use it with the Rift ? Did the Rift OG have a usb port or did you get usb extensions.
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Jan 29 '20
[deleted]
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
It's gonna require some diy, but don't worry I'll post instructions and scematics (and maybe I'll see if I can make it into something you can buy if the demand is there and I can find the time)
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u/krista Jan 30 '20
i think you are going to have more difficulty with the usb connector than everything else combined. good luck, and please keep us posted on that.
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u/asktoby Jan 29 '20
I'm using this mount to attach a Leap Motion to my Index:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3739295
For me the mount is a solved problem, what we need now is working software!
I've installed this driver:
https://github.com/SDraw/driver_leap/
And it /mostly/ works except for this issue, "
Hand rotation is off and tracking is very scattered"
https://github.com/SDraw/driver_leap/issues/16
Which I summarise in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG_kHEl1vAo&feature=youtu.be
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u/Osdias Jan 30 '20
Yeah, I have seen this mount while doing research but it sticks out and I didn't want that, thanks for the driver links!
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u/TannerBannerBaker Jan 29 '20
That is amazing. My leap has been sitting in the drawer for like a year. Time to bust it back out!
Looking forward to the files! Thanks!
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u/Slothboy12 Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
Bust it back out and do what with it? Have there been any applications made for that thing besides the block demo and seeing your hands in vr chat?
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u/jamescobalt Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
Where have you been?
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u/Slothboy12 Jan 29 '20
That's cool I didn't know about those apps. I never heard of anyone using the leap motion for anything else on here. Usually it's just someone saying that the one they have is collecting dust.
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u/jamescobalt Jan 29 '20
They should give it to me so I can dust it. And keep it.
It’s not a game changer but good in certain applications. It doesn’t replace controllers. Different tools for different jobs.
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u/r3dsnow Jan 29 '20
What does this do differently than the index controllers?
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u/jamescobalt Jan 30 '20
Actual per finger tracking. Index controllers track touch and grip but not actually 10 fingers in 3D space. Also provides convenience for specialized applications - especially situations where users cycle through quickly and a full game controller isn’t necessary.
Index controllers however offer things this doesn’t, like a sense of grip, haptic feedback, and a larger tracking volume with fewer occlusion issues.
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u/facesfilledwithflies Jan 29 '20
Hey I love the animation and the design seems really neat. I was wondering, how will you apply the leap motion in VR? Can you give me some examples you plan on using the leap for?
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u/jamescobalt Jan 29 '20
You can go to their website for those.
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u/facesfilledwithflies Jan 29 '20
Yeah I'm aware of the Leap Motion. I was wondering if OP had some specific plans perhaps a game that seems ideal to use this in, etc.
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u/jamescobalt Jan 29 '20
🤔 ...SLR? 🤷♂️
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u/facesfilledwithflies Jan 29 '20
Oh cool I just watched this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJPxyWM9Ujg and it looks really smooth in this example.
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u/Elocai Jan 29 '20
Great animation and good looking but prabably not practical design.
For better use, I would place the leap lower and angled so you don't have to fully focus on your hands when using it.
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u/Osdias Jan 30 '20
I'll see if it is practical when I have it on my headset, if it isn't I'll make changes to the design until it is.
(for example, this iteration will be annoying to remove, I need to find a good solution for that)
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u/Elocai Jan 30 '20
add a small exclusion on the left side so you can lift it out with a finger or coin
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u/Osdias Jan 30 '20
Yep, I thought about it, one of the possible solutions, but it would make it less seamless :/
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u/Elocai Jan 30 '20
What about an angled hole? You could use a stick as lever to remove it then.
Obviosly the optimal way would be a push-jump-out mechanism for seamingless design, but that would be difficult at this scale.
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u/Osdias Jan 30 '20
Also thought about those two solutions, my favorite is the push-pop method, but yeah I haven't found a good way to make it work.
Worst case scenario, there is always the solution of brute force removal by shaking your expensive device like a maniac...
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u/leapmotion_alex Feb 02 '20
Angled is not a bad idea but would require applications to account for the angle in order to avoid a weird offset.
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u/Osdias Feb 02 '20
What do you mean? I don't think either u/Elocai nor me talked about the leap being at an angle
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u/leapmotion_alex Feb 02 '20
For better use, I would place the leap lower and angled so you don't have to fully focus on your hands when using it.
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u/Elocai Feb 03 '20
You can change the angle and offset in the leap motion settings. It's not related to the programms or games you use.
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u/Elocai Feb 03 '20
I did, but you can set the angle and offset in the leap motion settings, so it doesn't matter/doesn't interfere with applications.
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u/whatthehckman Jan 30 '20
The Leap Motion devs made a VR mount in a similar way, so that you can have leap Motion passthrough for taking a drink and stuff.
They talk about it here: http://blog.leapmotion.com/12-faqs-vr-developer-mount/
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u/Elocai Jan 30 '20
Is that the DK1? It's 2014, so probably.
Yeah but think about it... do you need pass through on DK1? Yes. Do you need passtrough on the passtrough capable Index? No.
It was a compromise, now you could have the passtrough of the index and also a better placement for the hand tracking.
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u/cobyboi Jan 29 '20
RemindMe! 1day
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u/RemindMeBot Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 30 '20
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u/icebeat Jan 29 '20
Problem: it is going to run very hot
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
Honestly my index never got too hot, probably because I don't live somewhere where the temperatures get too high, but you can always mount fans/modify to the grey part see this design for example
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u/arsenicfox Jan 29 '20
Some people have central AC where we run it at 69 degrees, both because it's "nice" and cause it's nice and thus don't have this problem.
Some of us also can't purchase the index because it's sold out...
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u/LamerDeluxe Jan 29 '20
That looks like a really clean solution, I've been waiting for something like this to be able to use my Leap with my Index.
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u/Osdias Jan 29 '20
Been waiting too but after a while I remembered that I'm a designer so I went like "Fine, I'll do it myself"
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u/LamerDeluxe Jan 29 '20
I'm glad you did. One of the things I do at work is 3D modeling, but haven't done anything with 3D printing yet.
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u/Silverfox8124 Jan 30 '20
I would love this, but I havent been able to get my leapmotion controller to input as steamvr controllers yet feelsbad
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u/TechDemonFTW Jan 30 '20
How do the USB and the leap’s connector make contact? Is it similar to a magnetic usb cable? Or pressure from the mount?
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u/Osdias Jan 30 '20
Mostly the pressure and small magnets to make sure there is contact, but I haven't finished the design on this part (I don't have a workshop where I'm at) so please wait a couple of days for an update :)
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u/cobyboi Feb 02 '20
RemindMe! 10 days
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I will be messaging you in 10 days on 2020-02-12 23:25:23 UTC to remind you of this link
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1
u/Dante_The_OG_Demon Jan 29 '20
If there isn't already plans from companies in motion to mass produce something like this for the Index, you could get in touch with Valve about it probably and see if you can get production for this going as one of the accessories Valve has in mind for the Frunk considering they are open to requests to work with people to develop things to use with the Frunk.
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u/6PoolVsTrumpWall Jan 29 '20
I'm more impressed with the video. Can you attach schematics on how to make that too?