VR camera/goggle kit for R/C models

Tommy says:

I saw your post about the FlyCam and wanted to make sure you know about the brand new Pilot View FPV 2400.
It is basically Virtual Reality Goggles that allow you to fly your RC plane/car/whatever from the drivers seat! (a friend of mine actually fell down with the goggles on while doing a loop with his plane!).

I've been in the R/C hobby for years and I think this is really going to change things.

There's a video of Pilot View at the link. Link

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Falcon_Seven

Kay! Ee! Double-u! El!
Thinkerer

You too can put your R/C helicopter in autohover outside your cute neighbor’s bedroom window…or just use a well-trained cat.

This is a cool (if pricey) idea, but I’d be very interesting to see how many people suffer from vertigo or nausea while using it with high speed aircraft — the rapid horizon shifts etc. would really get to some people.
procrastinet

Super cool – but begs the question, can the cameras be doubled for binocular vision?
Wareq

The goggles – they do something.
Robbo

I waaaaaant one – and I’m gonna strap it to the cat!
Nur

That is extremely cool. The site seems very unwilling to give you a suggestion of range though, would this be good for a swoop around the field or is it more rangey than that?

They’re already planning to sell some incredible accessories for it (powerful OSD – live compass, power guage, -autopilot-) so I think that’s totally cool. I’ve always been impressed with the dedication of a serious model plane but this also makes it a much more immersive hobby.

And, finally, thank god someone made a better use for those video goggles than watching porn on the bus.
Neuron

$549, ouch.

Years ago I strapped a cheap-ass (<$100) wireless videocam to an RC car, plugged its receiver into my TV, and drove my RC all through the house from the comfort of my chair. If you have an amateur (“ham”) radio license, you can use more powerful (still cheap) video transmitters.
GregLondon

Freakin’ sweet!

xmas present!

Can’t seem to find specifics such as weight of the system on the aircraft, including battery and so on.

Still, it’s pretty cool.

And an on-screen-display with scrolling compass? Add an attitude indicator/artificial horizon, and an altimiter, and I am sooooo there.
Nur

“I waaaaaant one – and I’m gonna strap it to the cat!”

Robbo, that is what this is really for. The sick thing is I remember how much cats hate collars – I’ve seen a perfectly friendly cat use the kerb of a road as a sharp edge to saw a collar off and another manage to get one shoulder through its temporary flea collar.

I imagine if you set this up on a cat you would get to watch a rodeo like film of a cat trying to get it off. When you add in the VR goggles, man, that’s going to drive you sick. That’s the ultimate stoner movie, especially if you add sound.

Oh no, I’ve had a bad thought, there’s an option to get a servo controlled pan and tilt model of the camera – so not only is it trying to get the camera off, it’s also freaked out by the noise of the motors just behind its head.
Agent 86

What’s the range? If it is more than a block, I can imagine getting one for a small child. Never lose your kid in Disney Land again!
JamesMason

Just imagine – you could attach a few of those 1.7 inch guns (see below) to your plane and rig a servo to fire them, then use this to swoop in on your favorite national security target and blast away.

Infinitesimal bullets would still hurt, probably.

NOTE: Above suggestion for entertainment purposes only. Only simulated national security targets would be targeted.
soupisgoodfood

Wireless cameras like that have been around for ages. So have goggles like that. I’d rather have a normal TV screen so I can still see the real world. What would be news was if you could move your head around and move the camera so you could actually look around. There are people who’ve made these for the RC would, but I’ve yet to see a commercial product available (an Apache helicopter has a similar system, but they can be a bit expensive, not to mention bulky). And as someone else mentioned, stereoscopic vision would also make the system more interesting.
Daemon

Illegal hidden cam usage in 3… 2… 1…
adammetal

Good practice for flying drones in Iraq. War is going to become fun and safe.
minamisan

“you would get to watch a rodeo like film of a cat trying to get it off.

damn Nur, you made me spit coffee all over my keyboard.
i’m definitely getting one now! and a cat, too.
jungletek

DIY Predator Drone Instructable in 3…2…
padster123

2 cameras, one on each wing tip. Enhanced binocular vision!

I bet James Cameron has got one already.
gittarpikk

Ok, so much for all the clowning, lets get to a REAL question

Is there any provision for focus adjustment as in I wear glasses, and for anything up close, I would have to have a reading glasses set. Is there room for a set of readers or are they neccessary?. I’ve never put a set of VR’s on so I dont know. The pan and tilt is easy to make. and there are rate sensors as well as an IR head motion sensor . There already have been numerous projects of this type and youtube has several instances of them.