Reddit mentions of Sony PlayStation Eye Camera (Bulk Packaging)

For the mic, I recommend https://www.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Camera-Bulk-Packaging-Pc/dp/B0072I2240/ if you're looking for something cheap that works. Were you able to get your Alexa working in headless mode? I couldn't get it to work following Amazon's documentation, had to reformat and do full OS install.

Not to bash the official TrackIR, because it is a very solid product... I put together something very equivalent for less about $20.

• PS3Eye - $12
  
  
• FaceTrackNoIR - $0
  
  
• DIY IR LED clip (5v supply, serial build) - ~$5-10 (SFH 485 P, 6.8ohm resistor from the local electronics store, 5v power supply
  
  I started with FaceTrackNoIR's 'face tracking' module but found it a little bit wobbly in low light, which is how I do 90% of my gaming. Building the IR LED clip and using the 'Point Tracker' module for FTNoIR gives me 98% of what the full TrackIR system does.
  
  ~Edit~
  
  Also, I didn't do anything with removing the IR filter, or adding a normal light filter. Works perfectly fine in both the wide angle and narrow modes.
  
  ~Edit2~
  
  One more thing to note for anyone going this route - you're going to want to change the defaults for the Accela mk2 filter in FTNoIR. I used the settings outlined in the PointTracker Guide and am very happy with them.

Looks like a PS3 Eye Camera. You can get them super cheap, and they'll do 180 FPS @ 320x240, which I'm guessing is why this project uses one.

This is what I did as well and the remote is absolutely amazing! A perfect complement to the Shield

Two things that were invaluable to me:

You can buy a PS3 Eye Camera for very cheap on Amazon (or used from a local Gamestop) and use the far field mic on it for Assistant. In Shield Experience 7.2.3, the voice button on the Fire TV remote triggers assistant, and then the Eye Camera's mic can be used. It is an equivalent experience to using the stock remote for me.

You can use Button Remapper to remap buttons on the Fire TV remote. The app allows you to remap single, (quick) double, and long presses on buttons. The customization that I chose to do was holding down the menu button for skipping forward entire tracks. The media buttons on the Fire TV are just for seeking within the current media playing, and a skip forward button is all that I personally needed to make the Spotify experience on my Shield perfect. Do note that Button Remapper has an option to do a one time in app purchase to unlock a few more customization options, and customizing the menu button is a part of this (from what I remember).

Only $8 in bulk pack
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Camera-Bulk-Packaging-Pc/dp/B0072I2240/ref=pd_cp_vg_0

I was trying to convey to people just how easy it is to cheat, and I was saying that I'd like to demonstrate it, and they were getting uncomfortable with me saying that. I was hoping to spur people on to beef up security, but instead, it seemed that they rather just continue to ignore that it's possible. I can understand that adding barriers to entry is undesirable, but we have to think of the future. You can't just retroactively decide to add rules for videos that were already made. You can't invalidate all previous runs when you suspect one of being too good, and you can't be selective if there's no true sign of wrongdoing.

If you want to be sure there's a real person putting these inputs in, then a generalized (should work for pretty much anything) method that I'd propose is having mandatory hand cams. You can get a 120 fps camera for about $6 on Amazon right now.

Buy a cheap ps3 eye camera? Those can be found on Amazon for pretty cheap. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0072I2240/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503364587&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ps3+eye

I strongly suggest taking a look at visual techniques. Jakob Engel at the Computer Vision Group at TUM in Germany has developed a technique called Digital Sparse Odometry. The source is on his GitHub page.

This technique may need to be tuned to work on smaller devices like the RPi3, however the predecessor algorithm, LSD-SLAM, was less efficient and worked on phones in real-time.

Decent cameras can be had for cheap. I like the Sony PS3Eye as it provides an uncompressed feed of RGB components per pixel at 640x480x60 fps.

This.... https://smile.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Eye-Camera-Bulk-Packaging/dp/B0072I2240?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=playstation%20camera&qid=1491256858&ref_=sr_1_2&s=videogames&sr=1-2

It's a microphone array, originally designed for the Playstation. Cheaper than dirt. $6. Includes bonus camera.

Kind of big.

Okay, certainly not state of the art, but it's wireless (bt headphones and battery powered IR leds), and it only cost me about $15 out of pocket to add the head tracking.

Now, to be fair, that $15 - $8 for the IR LEDs and $6 for the PS3 Eye - is sort of an "HGTV" style cost estimate, since I didn't count the 2' length of old phone cord I cannibalized for wire, the filament or $300 3D printer to make the LED holder, the $1.50 130mAh battery I pulled from an old toy or the $2 connector from the same, or the soldering iron, holders, magnifying glasses, snips, cable ties, and sandpaper I had to use to adjust the modified PS3 Eye so it would re-focus. Nor the hundreds of hours put in by the OpenTrack programmers which I got for free thanks to their OS model. Or the 2 hours I spent wiring the @#$#^ thing up through those little tiny conduits. Or the $35 headphones I bought so that it could be completely wireless.


But, you know, aside from all that - yeah $15 and I'm now part of the head tracking crowd!

This, 1000x this. The total price definitely ends up being under $30. as /u/jazzmasterfirefox said, you can get these cameras for under $10 at Gamestop or even Amazon. The driver to run these, made by Code Laboratories, does cost $3, however, I have found that the Eye camera is compatible with Ubuntu out of the box. So, if you have a linux streaming setup like I do, you can get a great camera for under $10.

Some Notes: this camera only records at a resolution of 640x480, so for the camera being your full stream, the resolution may be a bit low, however, I just use it in a face box, so the resolution is acceptable. Additionally, this camera captures at 60FPS natively, or if you lower the resolution by half, it captures 120FPS. The camera also features a noise cancelling microphone, which may save you a little bit of money on audio, however I can't very well attest to the quality, as I have a separate audio setup.

I've been itching for some headtracking solution lately, too.

Many are saying the eventual FoIP, which will probably be fine apart from the cost of the webcam, though you can do facetracking now (not to be confused with FoIP) with a relatively cheap 120fps Playstation 3 Eye paired with something like FaceTrackNoIR that will likely work as well as it will, but may not be as easy to setup depending on how well it's going to be integrated. Using standard webcams also work, but not that well. Same issue regarding webcam framerate with using markers and IRtrackers.

And then there's Eyetrackers like Tobii, which is incredibly slick and easy to setup, only drawback is being centered in front of the capture bar as well as it being kinda' pricey.

Though what I'm really drawn to right now is magnetometer tracking with something like buying or building a small and cheap EDtracker module, or even more simply just strapping a newer phone to my head with OpenTrack. It just seems more simple and reliable overall, and doesn't require me to be constantly centered in front of my webcam for it to work well, as well as it's dirt cheap.

Just my two UEC though, really. Most will likely adopt the FoIP cam because of the social aspect of FoIP, but in the meantime spending a few bucks on a magnetometer module, or again just strapping a phone to your head, will get you as good of results as anything else.

Define "good" quality. Looking for HD? Or just something you can tweak and make look decent? I have the RPI camera board for when I am using the PI to take long shots or timelapses. But I have 2 of the PS3 Eye Toy USB Cameras that I use for watching the house when I am out and about. You can pick it up on Amazon/Ebay/etc for about 5 bucks now a days.

Edit: Amazon link if you are interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Camera-Bulk-Packaging-Pc/dp/B0072I2240/

You can try "Sony PlayStation Eye Camera" for only $7. xD Pretty good for its price. I tested years ago with a free track ir app. It wasn't bad and it works.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Eye-Camera-Bulk-Packaging/dp/B0072I2240/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1504051302&sr=8-4&keywords=playstation+camera

I'm in the same boat as you. https://www.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Camera-Bulk-Packaging-Pc/dp/B0072I2240/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542863572&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ps3+eye+camera&dpPl=1&dpID=41KjoNsY1mL&ref=plSrch works great

I'm running a home made headtracker with free-track that I've been using for probably 3 years now. I recently swapped out the camera I was using with a PS3Eye since they're only $8 on Amazon now, and performance is excellent.

If you know how to do basic soldering it's simple to build the point model, and the components will probably run you about $2-3... with a PS3Eye, you're looking at an approximate total build cost of $10-15 (assuming you have a soldering iron, etc).

Free-track is a little tricky to configure at first, but there's tons of good how-to's on their forums. Some people prefer the facetracknoir point tracker to free-track because it's a bit easier to set up and some report better performance. I've had mixed results with it over free-track personally.

Anyway, my point is trackIR5 + track clip pro will run you close to $200 and while I have yet to see an unbiased side by side comparison with a free-track setup, I can't imagine it's all that superior... BUT if you have the cash for one and don't like getting your hands dirty, it's a great option for that reason.

If you do end up building your own, feel free to PM me with any questions along the way.

Link to sale

The guides are a bit scattered around the web, I'll run through the basics of what you need.

I got these leds from LEDsupply, they were 60¢ a piece, and you need 3 of them.

You also need a resistor which are $1 a piece, and you specifically need a 70 ohm resistor. At LEDsupply, at checkout there is a additional order notes box that you need to specify the ohm rating of the resistor.

Then you need the PS3 Eye webcam. This webcam is capable of 120fps at lower resoultion, and 60-75fps at 640 by 480. For $7.29 you can't beat it. You also need the CL-Eye-Driver which is around $2.00 from a third party.

Additionally if you don't have any, you will need some small wire which is 25¢ per foot, a spare long usb cable that you will be cutting (I used an old turtle beach wire because it was so long), and some blank film negative.

For tools you are going to need a soldering iron, solder, a file, and possibly a hot glue gun.

The wiring diagram is super simple (substitute that resistor with yours, ignore the fuse) and you can mount the led's to a hat, or make a clip, whatever is easiest for you.

Download opentrack and take a look in the PointTracker>Settings>Model section and you will see different models you can make. Once you make the model you just put in the dimensions of the led's in there.

After all is said and done you have to file down the LED's to a flat, rough surface so they don't shine so bright into the webcam, and it gives them a wider field of view. This project was cheap and fun and the result is totally awesome. Feel free to message me with any questions.

P.S. If you decide against the 5v usb wire to power the leds, and want to use a battery instead, your resistor is going to be different!

The playstation cam is a pretty golden standard for cheap cameras and octoprint as far as I know. Can even find mounts to 3D print for them. Not bad for 6 bucks.

Sony PlayStation Eye Camera (Bulk Packaging) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072I2240/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_3UFQCb4ZZ0NG4

The pseye is cheaper than you're asking for brand new, and I think I've seen it as low as 4 new.

I use this from across the room and it works great: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-PlayStation-Eye-Camera-Bulk-Packaging/dp/B0072I2240/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503957345&sr=8-1&keywords=ps3+eye+camera

I had the same mic and was rather disappointed with the quality. It only worked well for when I was close to it, so keep that in mind.
The best working microphone for voice control so far for me seemed to be the Playstation Eye which costs about the same. It is bulkier due to the camera however, but why not integrate it as well into the mirror? :)

PS3 Eye - $4.74

+

CodeLaboratories PS3 Eye Driver for Windows - $3

It's only 640x480 but it does 60fps and the price can't be beat. I don't really get why anyone needs an HD facecam anyway.

I wouldn't recommend the PS4 camera at this moment. I'm going to try and get the ps4 camera working with the service because I need it for work. BUT it's not a feature I've written yet. Also the PS4 camera has a special connector you need to make an adapter for to work on the PC, see notes here. It's actually a USB3 camera, but Sony decided to used the special AUX adapter. The special AUX fitting has to be purchased from China (via AliExpress) so it takes a while to get. If you're prototyping at home, two PS3Eye camera are fine and they are dirt cheap on Amazon

EDIT: Oh and you won't get the controller fully working over USB. If I recall correctly you won't get controller packet updates when it's connected via USB (has to be connected vis bluetooth).