What advantage does Tobii have over Trackir?

[SeaFireliv]

I`ve just discovered Tobii. Now I`m using Trackir which is fine, but Tobii has EYE tracking. Has anyone used this with Elite and what are the differences\advantages compared to trackir? Is there any point getting Tobii if I already have TIR except I don`t have to stick anything on my head?

 

[Noctover]

Tried both, prefer TrackIR. Just seemed more fluent less glitchy.

 

[SeaFireliv]

Tried both, prefer TrackIR. Just seemed more fluent less glitchy.

Ah, so not as fast or smooth in responses? thankyou.

 

[Noctover]

Ah, so not as fast or smooth in responses? thankyou.

Others disagree. Check out Obsidians video on Tobii, he seems to have it worked well and seems to prefer it.

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Honestly though if you already have Track i seriously doubt the purchase of Tobii is worth it.

 

[YinYin]

No stuff on your head.
Plus simultaneous eye and head tracking.

That's about it.
Entirely different technology and experience.

 

[PanTast]

I have both.
The TrackIR is a bit faster responding and a bit more precise. But you either need to have the pro clip attached to your headset or wearing a stupid cap.

I prefer to play the game with speakers (no headset unless I am using Teamspeak) and I hate to be wired to my PC.

I prefer Tobii 4C

o7

 

[SeaFireliv]

I have both.
The TrackIR is a bit faster responding and a bit more precise. But you either need to have the pro clip attached to your headset or wearing a stupid cap.

I prefer to play the game with speakers (no headset unless I am using Teamspeak) and I hate to be wired to my PC.

I prefer Tobii 4C

o7

Hmm. Wearing the cap is no problem at all. The clip is a little more embarrassing when the postman calls and I forget i`m wearing it, but again, not a major issue. However, not having to faff about finding the metal detector thing and just running the game without it all would be nice.

But from what I can tell the actual eye-tracking itself seems to be a bit of a gimmick. Does the eye tracking actually do anything in the game?

 

[PanTast]

yes it does. and it does it very good.

you can set the Gaze Tracking Settings independetly from the Head Tracking Settings.

Each alone would let you replace a TrackIR. I've set the Gaze Tracking to work in the HUD area of the game (by restricting the angles) and the Headtracking mostly works for looking way left and right or up an down.

The naming of the sensitivity settings are a bit scientific, but they let you adjust everything very nicely.

o7

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

I`ve just discovered Tobii. Now I`m using Trackir which is fine, but Tobii has EYE tracking. Has anyone used this with Elite and what are the differences\advantages compared to trackir? Is there any point getting Tobii if I already have TIR except I don`t have to stick anything on my head?

Well I have never actually used Toby, and my track Ir is DIY.From my perspective Head tracking will always be superior to Eye tracking even more on elite where you need to be watching gauges all time and they are NOT fixed to your "head", just imagine trying to see your hull and the game just looking back when you need to look up... That's one natural thing of a dog fight, be looking up to face your opponent and doing a slight look at your hull or shields without taking your face of your opponent this is 100% impossible with eye tracking.

The eye tracking is a major achievement. and while it can actually free you from the headset. i don't think he can replace track IR because you lose the major mechanic from track IR, YOUR HEAD IS NOT TIED TO YOUR EYES.

Track IR:

Body -> Head (track IR) -> Eyes (free to look all over the display)

Eye Track:

Body -> Head -> Eyes ( Eye track, will move according to your eyes so every single time you look around everything will move!)


In the end Track Ir is more natural.because with the Eye tracking you'll need to learn to get information without looking at it. or else you'll be into a crazy ride to achieve a middle ground in looking what you want or facing where you want to go.

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yes it does. and it does it very good.

you can set the Gaze Tracking Settings independetly from the Head Tracking Settings.

Each alone would let you replace a TrackIR. I've set the Gaze Tracking to work in the HUD area of the game (by restricting the angles) and the Headtracking mostly works for looking way left and right or up an down.

The naming of the sensitivity settings are a bit scientific, but they let you adjust everything very nicely.

o7

Well while this is good, it's also bad. Trying to emulate the 3/4 points with a way more complex face is dangerous process and might glitch at any time.. that's why the big manufacturer don't use it, and the small free options are still trying to make it.

I don't know about this gaze settings... but from my personal experiences with track IR, Anything that is not a dead-zone in the center es me off when happens, and some times we have a ship passing exactly where the HUD is at this point the tracker would believe that I'm looking at the hud and stop tracking right? That's below average experience for me...

 

[who?]

I tried the Tobii EyeX and 4C, and the TrackIR 5 with Pro clip (the wired one).

Pros for Tobii:
- Cheaper
- No cable
- Has eye-tracking
- Probably works MUCH better in bright conditions
- Doesn't seem to suffer the need to occasionally Recenter the view (F12)
- Really well made, and great support.

Pros for TrackIR:
- MUCH more responsive
- MUCH more stable (in terms of precise targeting)
- Seems to have a greater range, plus rotation & movement (forwards & backwards)
- Doesn't have eye-tracking
- Cheap, flimsy construction, difficult to order in many countries.

A bit more explanation:
- The main benefit of Tobii is the lack of cables, so it feels more natural; but with range limits you still can't sit too far away from your screen.
- I've had serious problems with the TrackIR when it's really sunny outside, even when the room isn't in direct sunlight and the (non-blackout) curtains are closed. It just really, REALLY doesn't work in bright conditions.
- I gave the 4C a good stretch and got used to it, but then switched back to TrackIR and the responsiveness is night-and-day better.
- The stability of eye-tracking when reading text is awful. As you're scanning text from left-to-right the camera moves, which means your eyes have to move, which means the camera moves... it lead to bad eye-strain for me.

I wish the Tobii were better, but the TrackIR is vastly superior in my experience.

Edit - I just realised I listed 'cheap flimsy construction' as a Pro for the TrackIR, oopsie. Think it's worth mentioning though

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

I tried the Tobii EyeX and 4C, and the TrackIR 5 with Pro clip (the wired one).

Pros for Tobii:
- Cheaper
- No cable
- Has eye-tracking
- Probably works MUCH better in bright conditions
- Doesn't seem to suffer the need to occasionally Recenter the view (F12)
- Really well made, and great support.

Pros for TrackIR:
- MUCH more responsive
- MUCH more stable (in terms of precise targeting)
- Seems to have a greater range, plus rotation & movement (forwards & backwards)
- Doesn't have eye-tracking
- Cheap, flimsy construction, difficult to order in many countries.

A bit more explanation:
- The main benefit of Tobii is the lack of cables, so it feels more natural; but with range limits you still can't sit too far away from your screen.
- I've had serious problems with the TrackIR when it's really sunny outside, even when the room isn't in direct sunlight and the (non-blackout) curtains are closed. It just really, REALLY doesn't work in bright conditions.
- I gave the 4C a good stretch and got used to it, but then switched back to TrackIR and the responsiveness is night-and-day better.
- The stability of eye-tracking when reading text is awful. As you're scanning text from left-to-right the camera moves, which means your eyes have to move, which means the camera moves... it lead to bad eye-strain for me.

I wish the Tobii were better, but the TrackIR is vastly superior in my experience.

wait. so you are saying that they are not using a good UV Filter on the Track Ir 5 :O wat! My home made Camera with a cheat UV filter, removes EVERYTHING that is not straight sun light from apearing in my sensors... That's one into getting a real track IR ever... maybe i will look to one 120 FPS camera instead lol.

 

[Iskariot]

I`ve just discovered Tobii. Now I`m using Trackir which is fine, but Tobii has EYE tracking. Has anyone used this with Elite and what are the differences\advantages compared to trackir? Is there any point getting Tobii if I already have TIR except I don`t have to stick anything on my head?

Not really an answer to your question, but please try out Tobii before you buy.
I bought the thing and I felt it is awful.

The way it works is counter intuitive. With Tobii the in-game head moves when you move your eyes.
Personally it made me crazy. I really hated it and tried to get used to it for a day, but then put it on the shelf, never to use it again.

I bought ED tracker Pro a few weeks ago.
Much cheaper and by the gods of gaming I swear to you... so much more intuitive and natural to use than Tobii that it isn't even funny.
I installed the thing and it felt like adding a new dimension to my game without almost no time needed to adapt to it.

I really recommend considering EDTracker.

EDIT: TrackIR is perhaps the same system (have not tried it) I just realized. So perhaps you should keep that.

 

[who?]

wait. so you are saying that they are not using a good UV Filter on the Track Ir 5 :O wat! My home made Camera with a cheat UV filter, removes EVERYTHING that is not straight sun light from apearing in my sensors... That's one into getting a real track IR ever... maybe i will look to one 120 FPS camera instead lol.

I can't comment on the reasons. All I can say is my machine is by a window (but the sun isn't shining directly in, and the curtains are closed) and when it gets really bright outside the TrackIR picks up false points all over my face and goes crazy (spinning/shaking), it's absolutely unusable. This is with the Pro Clip, I haven't tried with the passive hat-clip but I'd guess that's worse if anything?

It doesn't affect me much, as I play mostly in the evenings. (Plus, I live in Ireland, so... "sunshine? what's that?") But the first time I tried playing during the day I got a bit of a shock, just had to give up as I couldn't be bothered playing without head-tracking.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

I have the Tobii 4C. The only criticism I have is that it might catch your default head position wrong, if you're not looking straight at the monitor when it enables. Other than that, perfect. Especially since I coppied Obsidian Ant's setting, which he explained in his latest video about it.

 

[SeaFireliv]

Well, looks like Tobii is losing the race, I`ll probably stick with my trackir5.

Thanks a lot guys and Reps all round.

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

I can't comment on the reasons. All I can say is my machine is by a window (but the sun isn't shining directly in, and the curtains are closed) and when it gets really bright outside the TrackIR picks up false points all over my face and goes crazy (spinning/shaking), it's absolutely unusable. This is with the Pro Clip, I haven't tried with the passive hat-clip but I'd guess that's worse if anything?

It doesn't affect me much, as I play mostly in the evenings. (Plus, I live in Ireland, so... "sunshine? what's that?") But the first time I tried playing during the day I got a bit of a shock, just had to give up as I couldn't be bothered playing without head-tracking.

Well my room is a clusterf... for tracking devices, not only my Screen have a huge window on the back of it, I also have a wall of mirrors on my back also... no direct sunlight anyway... but i can use my "Track IR" 24/7 without a hitch... that's some fkd up filter on the original one... Maybe there's a configuration to lower the exposition somewhere?

This is a shot of NOW, at 12PM with my normal game conditions(for my webcamera):

And that is a mirror shining the light coming from a window BTW...

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Not really an answer to your question, but please try out Tobii before you buy.
I bought the thing and I felt it is awful.

The way it works is counter intuitive. With Tobii the in-game head moves when you move your eyes.
Personally it made me crazy. I really hated it and tried to get used to it for a day, but then put it on the shelf, never to use it again.

I bought ED tracker Pro a few weeks ago.
Much cheaper and by the gods of gaming I swear to you... so much more intuitive and natural to use than Tobii that it isn't even funny.
I installed the thing and it felt like adding a new dimension to my game without almost no time needed to adapt to it.

I really recommend considering EDTracker.

EDIT: TrackIR is perhaps the same system (have not tried it) I just realized. So perhaps you should keep that.

Yes I had forgot ED tracker.... this one is on par with track IR. never tryed it, but the design idea about it is as good if the materials used to it are good BTW... there is the cheap and the proper one right?

If someone is looking on gifting me one I'm happy man!

 

[Wasp0]

Only just picked up on this thread and most has been said. As an owner of both, i must say my Tobii went back in the box after 2 days of fiddlin, manipulating, cogitating, shouting and throwing toys out the pram and has not come back out the box since.

Sorry TrackIR for ever doubting your superiority!!

For sale 1x (Only used for 2 days) Tobii 4c. Offers via PM !

 

[PanTast]

Ok, I have to defend Tobii4C a bit.

First: the default settings are no good.
Second: you have to keep in mind that a TrackIR user is used to look right, but move the eyes left to focus what he wants to see.

Third: I have used TrackIR extensively flying WW2 sims and I still use it when I do so.
Fourth: you have to set up keys to center and to disable both devices depending on what you are doing.

When I enter the station services I always disable any headtracking or Eyetracking. Otherwise reading menues gets wonky.

My settings on the Tobii4C are low responsive to the eyes with low speed to compensate my habit of flicking between spots on the screen with my eyes.
On the other hand my headtracking is set very responsive and fast to be able to quickly look at something on the edge of my field of view. But I have a deadzone in the center to calm the image when I am in normal flight.

For everyone who is interested, I uploaded an image with my settings:

Spoiler

I suggest you to try that out. Because looking at something on your screen gets very natural with these settings. Just look at it and it will become center (ish) depending if its within the eye dominated center or the head-dominated periphere. For it is very relaxing.

I hope at least one user can benefit from that. Fly safe commanders.

o7


EDIT:
very important sidenote: I open my sidepanels, the target panel and the role panel with keys (coolie hat). Doing so stops all headmovement when opening a panel and allows you to have a steady view on them.

 

[Jonas Treesong]

I use the Tobii 4c and think it's brilliant.

Main advantage for me: can't stand playing with things attached to my head (I used EDTracker and hated it, never tried TrackIR).

Go watch the video by Obsidian Ant, if you're struggling with the settings. His are on the money.

 

[Belthize]

Hmm. Wearing the cap is no problem at all. The clip is a little more embarrassing when the postman calls and I forget i`m wearing it, but again, not a major issue.

Ha. I use TrackIR and had to run to the hardware store last weekend. Luckily my wife noticed as I was walking out of the house: Are you sure you want to go to the hardware store looking like that ?

Promptly swapped baseball caps.

How does Tobii deal with back lighting ? I have to either put up a towel over the glass in a nearby door or forget using TrackIR before 10am on weekends because the sunlight on the wall behind me completely freaks it out.