Tracker RUCAP UM-5 User Guide

Transcription

1 Tracker RUCAP UM-5 User Guide The RUCAP Ltd. Company The RUCAP Ltd. Page 1

2 Contents 1. Introduction The RUCAP UM-5 tracker consists of Antenna Emitter Features Coverage area Features System requirements Software Installation Installing and Connecting Your Device Connecting Antenna to the Monitor Battery Charge Control Running RUCAP UM-5 Tracker Software Service Program Menu Toolbar Information and Activities Menu Profiles list Using ready-made profiles Profile Settings Service Program Status Bar Program Presetting Creating and Configuring Your Own Game Profiles Safety and Usage Information Manufacturer's warranty Troubleshooting Package Contents The RUCAP Ltd. Page 2

3 1. Introduction RUCAP UM-5 tracker is made to identify the user s head position and to adjust accordingly the image on the PC display creating correct perspective for the user. The device creating a strongly credible virtual reality is mainly used to play computer games. However, it can also be used for the purposes of 3Dgraphics applications and 3D-modeling. RUCAP UM-5 tracker precisely identifies the user position in relation to the PC monitor. RUCAP UM-5 tracker meets the requirements of WideGlance technology and creates strongly realistic virtual reality images on standard monitors. Additionally the tracker spots the user s head orientation. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 3

4 2. The RUCAP UM-5 tracker consists of 2.1. Antenna Figure 1. Antenna One of the main parts of the tracker, the antenna, consists of: 2 sliding parts with 4 ultrasonic receivers and signal processing circuitry; Central part with width adjustment tubes ; 2 IR light-emitting diodes to synchronize the emitter and receivers (Figure 1. ); On the back side of the antenna there is power switch and jack to connect it to the PC. Fix the antenna on your flat PC monitor using the supplied rubber cord. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 4

5 Note! There are two available types of antenna: compatible with 17"and 19" LCD monitors with 365 mm to 435 mm width; compatible with 19" and 21" LCD monitors with 415 mm to 485 mm width. Make sure you know your monitor cross width before you choose the antenna type (Figure 2). Figure 2. Measuring the monitor width The antenna type is marked on the back side of the package: or Emitter Emitter generates ultrasound signals. Fix it on your head with the supplied elastic strap. The Emitter is powered by AAA battery enclosed in the Tracker package. The battery cover is located under the elastic band (Figure 3). The RUCAP Ltd. Page 5

6 Figure 3. Replacing the Emitter battery A fully charged battery will serve for about 8 hours, so do not forget to switch your Emitter off when the device is not used. The power switch is a LED lighted transparent button located on the Emitter front. It lights several seconds after the Emitter is switched on indicating the battery charge level. Solid light means that the battery is full, blinking light means that the battery needs replacing. To replace the battery, open the back cover of your Emitter, then remove the old battery and insert a new one. You may also use AAA rechargeable batteries. Make sure you use for recharging the charger type as recommended by the rechargeable batteries manufacturer. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 6

7 3. Features 3.1. Coverage area The Tracker Coverage area is shown in the Figure 4 below: Figure 4. The Tracker Coverage area of (1 - monitor, 2 coverage area) 3.2. Features Information update rate is not less than 150 fps. The information-processing channel delay does not exceed 10 milliseconds. At 25ºC ± 10 º C the accuracy of the user position determining in the coverage area is ± 3 mm. The antenna is powered through USB-port of the computer with the standard voltage 5±0,5V. Emitter consumption is not more than 10 ma. Antenna consumption is not more than 100 ma System requirements Windows XP and above operating system. Processor - Pentium 4 1,5 GHz or Athlon XP and above. 512 MB RAM. DVD-ROM. 50 MB free hard disk space. 256 MB RAM video card. The above system requirements are specified for the RUCAP UM-5 Tracker software. Any game run on your PC may require more resources. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 7

8 4. Software Installation Before using the RUCAP UM-5 Tracker you need to install the additional software supplied with the Tracker. Insert the CD and choose Driver Installation (if the wizard is not started, run autorun.exe file from the disc) Choose the installation language and follow the installation wizard Click Continue Anyway Figure 5. Installer language Figure 6. Software installation The RUCAP Ltd. Page 8

9 The RUCAP Virtual Joystick Drivers Installation message will appear Figure 7. RUCAP Virtual Joystick Drivers Installation message Please wait for the Found New Hardware Wizard to appear and proceed to install the drivers as below: Figure 8. Found New Hardware Wizard The RUCAP Ltd. Page 9

10 Figure 9. Found New Hardware Wizard Figure 10. Hardware Installation The RUCAP Ltd. Page 10

11 Figure 11. Found New Hardware Wizard Click OK on the message RUCAP Virtual Joystick Drivers Installation that appeared previously. Click Finish Figure 12. RUCAP Virtual Joystick Drivers Installation message The RUCAP Ltd. Page 11

12 Figure 13. RUCAP UM-5 Setup Upon drivers installation the RUCAP UM-5 Tracker software will run automatically. If not, please run the program manually following the below path: Start -> All Programs -> RUCAP -> UM-5 -> RUCAP UM-5 Tracker. The program needs to identify the monitor width in millimeters. Measure the width of your monitor and fill in the below fields. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 12

13 Figure 14. Enter the Monitor Width window The RUCAP Ltd. Page 13

14 5. Installing and Connecting Your Device 5.1. Connecting Antenna to the Monitor The antenna design allows it to be placed on the standard LCD monitors with diagonal of 17 ", 19"+ (depending on the antenna modification). The sliding elements of the antenna allow changing the distance between the side parts. Some adjustment will be required anyway, since the monitors having the same screen size may have different width. Match the notches on the back of the side parts of the antenna with the side edges of the monitor and fix the antenna with the rubber cord supplied. Antenna installation: a) Slide the side parts of the antenna sideways as shown in the Figure 15; mind not to apply extra force and not to twist the antenna. Figure 15. Adjusting the Antenna Size to the Monitor The RUCAP Ltd. Page 14

15 b) Install the antenna on the monitor matching its notches with the side edges of the monitor: Figure 16. Installing the Antenna on the Monitor c) Fix the antenna by the hooks with the supplied rubber cord, as shown in the Figure 17. Figure 17. Fixing the Antenna The RUCAP Ltd. Page 15

16 d) Connect the antenna to your PC via USB-port with the supplied cable. Start your computer and switch the antenna on (the antenna power switch is located near the USB jack). The blue light on the power indicator will appear. Figure 18. Connecting the Antenna to the PC via USB-port e) When the antenna is connected the Found New Hardware Wizard may run. In this case follow the instructions shown below: The RUCAP Ltd. Page 16

17 Software Installation Figure 19. Found New Hardware Wizard The RUCAP Ltd. Page 17

18 Figure 20. Found New Hardware Wizard Figure 21. Hardware Installation The RUCAP Ltd. Page 18

19 Figure 22. Found New Hardware Wizard If the indicator lights up, the device installation and connection are completed. Otherwise please check the cable connecting the antenna to your computer Battery Charge Control Before you start working the Emitter, make sure the battery is full and ready for usage. One AAA battery is supplied with the Tracker. A fully charged battery will serve for about 8 hours. Replace the batteries once discharged. The battery charge level is shown by a LED indicator: Solid light means the battery is fully charged; Blinking light means the battery charge is low and it shall be replaced; No light means the battery is completely discharged. Note: You may also use AAA rechargeable batteries. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 19

20 Fix the emitter to your forehead as shown in the Figure 23Ошибка! Источник ссылки не найден.fastening the elastic straps. Figure 23. Fixing the Emitter on Your Forehead 5.3. Running RUCAP UM-5 Tracker Software Run the RUCAP UM-5 Tracker program supplied with the Tracker by following the below path: Start -> All Programs -> RUCAP -> UM-5 -> RUCAP UM-5 Tracker to check the tracker operational capacity. An image of a human head will appear on the screen. If the tracker runs correctly the image will be stable and it will properly follow the emitter movements. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 20

21 6. Service Program Figure 24. Main Window of the Service Program 1. Menu Toolbar; 2. Information and Activities Menu; a. Head; b. Progress-bars of the tracker axes; 3. Profiles List; 4. Customizing Game Profiles; 5. Status Bar. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 21

22 6.1. Menu Toolbar File To exit the program select Exit in the file menu. Tools Help Select Check for Updates to check and run the updates, if available. Select Options to open the properties menu: o Select Language to choose the service program interface language. The new settings will run upon program restart. o Select Monitor Width to see the monitor details: to ensure tracker proper operation, please check that the cross width of your monitor is set correctly. o Select Run program at Windows Startup to make the program run each time you start your computer. o Select Automatically Check for Updates if you wish the program to check for the available updates automatically. o Select Run/Stop profile hotkey to set a hot key to start or stop the game profile. o Select Center hotkey to center the position of the tracker. Help contains information on the service program: version number, copyright and reference information Information and Activities Menu Head 3D model of a human head shows the exact position of the user's head in relation to the PC monitor. Depending on the user profile settings, this model moves in different ways. This helps the user to customize sensitivity settings and tune the tracker following to his/her personal preferences and see the results. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 22

23 Progress-bars of the tracker axes Axes progress-bars indicate (+or -) the direction the user is currently moving the tracker in relation to the monitor. X-axis - head moved horizontally. Y-axis head moved vertically. Z-axis head moved backward/forward (closer to the monitor or further from it). Angle X head turned to the left or to the right head about Y-axis («yaw"). Angle Y head moved up or down head about X-axis («pitch"). "Center" Button By clicking the "Center" button located under the progress bars you will centralize the tracker position in relation to the monitor, i.e. center of all of the axes will be moved to the point where the user's head is at the current moment. This helps in the situation when the user feels uncomfortable about the current position of the center of the tracker axes. You may also center the tracker position in relation to the monitor by pressing F12 button. F12 is the default hotkey for this action. You may change the hotkeys settings using the Options menu (menu "Tools"> "Options"> "Center hotkey") Profiles list The profiles list contains a list of all the available game profiles. The current profile is the one currently selected in the list. The current profile name is shown in the status bar of the service program ("Current profile"). To create a new profile click the «New» button under the profiles list, and enter your profile name in the "Profile name" field of the dialogue box, then click "Create". Figure 25. Dialogue Box to Create a New Profile The new profile will appear in the profiles list in its alphabetical order. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 23

24 By clicking "Delete" button under the profiles list you may delete the selected profile upon confirmation. Figure 26. Dialogue Box to Delete a Profile The autorun icon ( ) to the left of the profile name means that you do not need to press the Run Profile button; to activate such profile it is enough just to run the corresponding game Using ready-made profiles To activate one of the game profiles already available with the program just choose it from the profiles list and click "Run profile" button and then run your game application. If "Autorun" option is available on the "Main" tab of the profile settings, just run the game application and the profile will be activated automatically. It is recommended to read the profile description (the Description" tab) before you run the game application, to check whether the device works correctly (the head on your screen should move the same way as your own head) and to centralize the head position by clicking the "Center" button Profile Settings Apart from the name of the selected profile there is a "Run / Stop Profile" button in the heading of the profile settings window. And there are five more tabs: "Description", "Options", "Mouse emulation", "Keyboard Emulation" and "Joystick emulation". The profile settings you choose will be saved for each profile automatically. "Run Profile" Button Once your click "Run Profile" button to run the profile you have selected from the list (seen as "Current Profile" in the status bar), all the profile settings, including emulation type, sensitivity and filtering, will be activated. When the profile is running the button "Run Profile" is replaced with the "Stop Profile" button ( ) to disable the profile and all the emulations selected for it. Once the profile is The RUCAP Ltd. Page 24

25 disabled, the 3D head model on your screen will continue to move in accordance with the profile calibration settings. Before you stop your currently activated profile you may not choose to activate another one. Press F11 to activate your current profile (you can change the default settings by selecting "Tools"> "Main"> "Run / Stop profile hotkey" menu). Description tab Choose the "Description" tab to see a brief description of the game this profile was created for as well as notes to using the tracker usage while playing it. You may edit the edit the description text by clicking the "Edit" button. Main tab Selecting the Main tab you will see the main settings ("Head") and auto-run settings of the profile as well as the "Rename profile" button. Figure 27. Main Tab Click "Calibrate" button to start Calibration Wizard and follow the instructions to calibrate the tracker correctly. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 25

26 Figure 28. Calibration Wizard Dialogue Box To calibrate the tracker for each game, special tracker calibration settings are saved for each of the profiles, and this helps to reach a better accuracy and control while playing this particular game. "Head movements filtering" slider is used to adjust software settings for filtering the tracker movements. Moving this slider you may choose between "Speed" and "Quality". If you move the slider to Speed position, this will assure you for quick, but inaccurate motion filtering, and if you move it to Quality position, you will have slow but more accurate and smooth filtering. In practice, this slider adjusts movement smoothness. Tick "Enable profile autorun" check box to make your profile run automatically according to the settings selected in the "Auto-load settings" field (this field remains inactive while "Enable profile auto-loading" check box is not ticked). Enter the name of the.exe file running your game application in the ".exe file name" to activate your corresponding profile automatically. You may either type the name of your.exe file manually or chose it by browsing your hard disk via Explorer window. To change the name of your profile click the "Rename profile" button and enter your new profile name in the "Profile name" text box in the left hand side. This will not affect the profile settings. Mouse Emulation Tab To control the mouse cursor with your tracker, select the Mouse Emulation. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 26

27 Figure 29. "Mouse Emulation" Tab Tick the "Enable mouse emulation" check box to activate mouse emulation mode and the "Sensitivity" slider. Use the "Sensitivity" slider to adjust the speed of the mouse cursor. The closer you move the slider to the Fast position, the more distance the mouse cursor will cover after the tracker is moved. Keyboard Emulation Tab Select the Keyboard Emulation tab to make the tracker respond to certain movements of your head the same way as if you were pressing the defined buttons on your keyboard or mouse. Figure 30. "Keyboard Emulation" Tab Tick the "Enable Keyboard Emulation" check box to activate the keyboard emulation settings. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 27

28 Axes progress bars show the current direction of the tracker movement (+ or -). Enter the keys in the fields on the both sides of the progress bars. Each field refers to a particular movement direction (positive [+] or negative [-]) along each axis. For example, positive direction of head movement along X axis corresponds to head movement to the right; and negative direction along X axis corresponds to head movement to the left. There are no default keyboard or mouse buttons set in this tab. To change this, choose the field and press the keyboard or mouse button you wish to be activated by moving the tracker in the selected direction. To reset the default <None> value for any of the fields field just click on the selected field and press the "Delete" key on your keyboard twice. Joystick Emulation Tab In Joystick Emulation mode you can use the Tracker as a five axes joystick, which will be identified by Windows as "rucap Virtual Joystick". Figure 31. "Joystick Emulation" Tab Tick the "Enable joystick emulation" check box to activate the joystick emulation settings. On the left hand side of the tab "Joystick Emulation" the actual tracker axes, i.e. the axes identifying the tracker position in reality, are listed. Next to each axis name there is a drop-down list containing all the virtual joystick axes (further we will call these simulated axes) that are emulated by the service program. Thus, each axis in the real world can be linked to any of the simulated axes, i.e. moving your head up and down (Y axis in the real world) you may cause movements along Z simulated axis in virtual reality Service Program Status Bar Status bar shows general information on the program operation status: "Status" - status of the tracker; The RUCAP Ltd. Page 28

29 "Current profile" currently active profile; "Run Profile: F11" - (default) hotkey to run your current profile; "Center: F12" - (default) hotkey to center the tracker position. The status bar will show your customized hotkey settings Program Presetting Before you start calibrating the tracker, please measure the width of your monitor as shown in the Figure 32 below: Figure 32. Measuring the Monitor Width Type your monitor cross-width size (millimeters) in the "Monitor Width" field ("Tools" > "Options"). NOTE! The more precisely you measure your monitor width, the more realistic picture the tracker will create on your screen. The recommended measurement accuracy is ± 1mm Creating and Configuring Your Own Game Profiles Using the service program you may create your own game profiles for your RUCAP UM-5 tracker. Any user can create profiles for his/her favorite games and also the Tracker can be used as a universal controller for various applications. Profile Calibration Options You may calibrate each game profile individually. Calibration affects emulated virtual joystick axes general sensitivity, mouse and keyboard emulation sensitivity. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 29

30 In the course of calibration you actually specify the scope for each of the tracker axes, i.e. the area you plan to move the tracker while playing the game. If you choose the X-axis scope to be minimum, the program (and the game) will be highly sensitive to each and every movement along this axis. And otherwise, if you choose the X-axis scope to be maximum, each movement along the X-axis will be reproduced on the screen smoothly. It is recommended to reduce the axis scope if you need to move fast in the course of the game. If you expand the axis scope, this will reduce sensitivity of the emulated virtual joystick, if there is no way to change this in the game s settings. To reduce the scope of any axis you need to move slightly along this axis during the tracker calibration and use the progress-bars to control amplitude of your movements. To expand an axis scope you need to move the tracker away from the axis center to the maximum possible distance. Using Mouse Emulation While choosing the games to be played in the mouse emulation mode, please note the following. Mouse emulation mode will be quite effective for the games where control is done by moving the mouse. However, the mouse emulation mode will be of no effect in the games where the mouse is used to select some items from the list, like weapon type in a strategic game, or destination point in a quest game, or target in an arcade shooter. The mouse emulation mode will also not be effective in the games where the character can make several full (360 degrees) turnarounds. It will not be easy to make this in the tracker mouse emulation mode since the mouse movement area is limited in this case by the tracker movement area (whereas you can move the mouse to another place without changing the mouse cursor position on the screen). In the "Mouse emulation" tab there is also an option to change the sensitivity, i.e. to customize speed of the emulated mouse cursor movement. This will help to identify the right level of mouse sensitivity for a particular game or to reduce the sensitivity level for another gamer not familiar with such control options. Using Joystick Emulation You may use Joystick emulation almost for any game supporting joysticks or gamepads. If the emulated virtual joystick movements are not immediately recognized by the game, customize the game settings manually, i.e. choose the movement you d like to use (e.g. move forward) and move the tracker accordingly (e.g. move it towards the monitor) and then link this movement to the chosen one. On the left hand side of the "Joystick Emulation" Tab there is a list of the actual tracker axes, i.e. the axes you move the tracker along in the real world. Next to the name of each actual axis you will find a The RUCAP Ltd. Page 30

31 drop-down list of all the axes of the virtual joystick emulated by service program (further we will call these simulated axes). Following to your preferences in this or that particular game, you may link any actual axis to any of the simulated ones. The most effective way is to link the simulated axes to the real ones in a way that the tracker movements in the real world are repeated by the game object/character, e.g. if you wish to control forward/backward movements of the character, link these movements with the Z-axis in the real world. However, if any of the virtual axes (in our case the Z-axis) are not supported by the game, you may link this movement to any other axis, e.g. Y-axis. If you do not plan to use any of the real world axes during the game, just disable it by selecting Off in the drop-down list. The service program allows inverting any of the simulated axes following your preferences even if the game settings do not support this option. You may choose to invert any of the virtual joystick axes by selecting "Inverted" in any of the five dropdown lists. Normally you can easily adjust the virtual joystick sensitivity changing the appropriate game settings. However, if it is not possible, you may adjust the virtual joystick sensitivity customizing the game profile accordingly. Using Keyboard Emulation Keyboard emulation may prove very functional once the joystick emulation is not supported or this option is not provided by the game at all and thus there is no way to link any control functions with movements along any of the joystick axes. Additionally, activating keyboard emulation you may also use the tracker with any other applications, e.g. for zoom in/zoom out in 3D Studio Max software. 7. Safety and Usage Information Your Tracker is a complex electronic device handle it with care. Do not expose the antenna and/or the emitter to excessive strain. To ensure peak performance of your tracker, it is not recommended to use any other devices emitting ultrasound and/or pulsed infrared light in the room where the tracker is used and to expose it to direct sunlight. Standard illumination would not affect the tracker performance. There should be enough space around the monitor with the antenna attached thereto. Remove any objects from the tracker coverage area. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 31

32 For the better tracker performance ensure that the emitter is directed towards the monitor with the antenna attached thereto. Best performance is achieved when the emitter is directed right to the center of the monitor. Find out the correct position with the emitter fixed to your head and try keep it. Make sure to be inside the tracker coverage area (Figure 33). Figure 33. User inside the Tracker Coverage Area CAUTION! The tracker would work correctly only within its coverage area. Outside the coverage area the image on the monitor becomes unstable. Using the tracker you will perform some physical activity. movements that could damage your health. Try to avoid too excessively abrupt Keep the emitter and antenna surfaces open. Do not cover and/or shade these. Remove any objects from the coverage area. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 32

33 Figure 34. Improper Tracker Usage Conditions To clean the tracker use special wipes same as for LCD monitors. Do not use gasoline, acetone and/or any other strong dissolvent. The tracker shall be repaired only in the authorized service centers. Do not open the antenna and/or the emitter. Warranty becomes void once the seals are damaged. Note for parents. The tracker can be used only by children of 6+ years old. Teach your child to wear the emitter correctly and keep an eye on him/her during the game. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 33

34 8. Manufacturer's warranty The manufacturer hereby guarantees the tracker compliance with the technical specifications provided that the user meets to the operating conditions terms. The warranty period is 1 year from the date of purchase. If the purchase date is not known, the warranty period is 1 year from manufacture date. During the warranty period the device owner has the right to its repair free of charge. If the seal is damaged, no claims are accepted. A discharged battery shall not serve a reason for the device quality claims. Repair service under this warranty is provided by the authorized service centers with the addresses listed in the warranty coupon. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 34

35 9. Troubleshooting Problem Possible reason How to correct I insert a fully charged battery and there is no light on the emitter power indicator. The light indicator of the antenna does not work. When the tracker is used there are frequent failures and jitter on the screen. The battery may be inserted in an incorrect manner. There is no contact between the battery and the contact springs. No voltage on the antenna. There is ultrasound or IR device operating nearby interfering with the tracker signals. Remove the battery and check the polarity. Clean the contacts. Check the connection between your computer and the antenna. Make sure that the cable is not damaged. Check the room for such devices and switch these off. The device is on but it does not respond to the emitter movements. The emitter fixed on your head is not oriented properly it may be directed away from the monitor. There are any objects in the coverage area. Adjust the emitter position. For the best performance the emitter should be directed to the center of the monitor. Make sure there space in front of the monitor is free. Remove any objects from the coverage area. Change the position of the monitor and the antenna. You are outside the coverage area. Enter the coverage area. The emitter is exposed to direct sunlight. Protect your emitter from the direct sunlight. Software error. Switch off your device and then switch it on. Restart your computer. Reinstall the software. Defective device. Contact the authorized service center. The RUCAP Ltd. Page 35

36 10. Package Contents The package includes: 1. Antenna 2. Emitter 3. Software installation CD 4. USB Cable 5. AAA Battery 6. User guide 7. Warranty coupon The RUCAP Ltd. Page 36