Hey,

So I've been eyeing (pun intended) the Tobii Eye Tracker for quite some time but I'm having a hard time making up my mind. I do currently own a Track IR 5 set that I bought many years ago, that has seen sporadic use. I think the biggest drawback of Track IR for me is having to wear something, especially that TrackClip Pro with an extra wire I find highly annoying for every day use. But the thing is reliable, accurate and works as intended. However, I recently came across the Tobii Eye Tracker and seen a lot of positive reviews, some even say they prefer it over the Track IR as it's less susceptible to malfunction due to sunlight or glare from glasses, which I find interesting. Plus, not having to wear anything would be amazing. 

But I obviously question the accuracy, how it is to actually own and use, all the little problems the reviews sometimes gloss over. Has anyone used both, what are you take on them from a flight sim / MSFS perspective?

Thanks 

Right now in MSFS the Tobii is missing controls to configure the settings so you are stuck with the default which personally I find a little too sensitive,
It also only tracks rotation at the moment and not Up, Down, Left, Right, Fowards, Backways tracklng.

However I still prefer it right now to TrackIR because I hate having to wear the tracker on my headphones and as you mention TrackIR can get very confused if you wear glasses.
 

The Tobii also works as a Windows Hello camera so you can set it up to log you into windows automatically when you it sees you - very usefu but slightly creepy :)

I use the visor that Track IR sells ( around $10 ), the clip goes on the visor, it is light, open at the top, and I forget I am even wearing most of the time. You don't need that rig with the led unit mounted to a headset, it doesn't work any better than the standard clip, and the wire is a nuisance. Track IR is accurate, and I can place my joystick, or controls anywhere I want, and don't have to worry about it interfering with the tracking.

Almost every Youtube video on flight sims, has Track IR used to look around, in fact the one or two videos I have seen where it is not used for some reason, the Youtube creator always apologizes for not having it. 

I wear glasses whenever I fly, and have no issues with track Ir now working with glasses. That is an adjustment in the Track IR software. 

Edited November 19, 20214 yr by Bobsk8

I'm curious too. I tried it previously using FaceTrackNoIR and could never find a happy medium in MSFS 2020. It was either real time tracking but very jittery or buttery smooth but at the expense of lag. All depending on how you set up the beta filter that was being used. I ended up selling the Tobii but I'm planning on purchasing again for MSFS 2020 now official support is included as like you, I prefer tracking without the need to wear anything.

The issue at the moment appears to be there are no Tobii options in the sim meaning you can't adjust curves or sensitivity to fine tune to your tastes. The other issue with no options is you cannot select between head/eye/both for tracking. Some people only want head tracking without the eye tracking affecting things. Finally, there is no option in sim to pause Tobii which is another oversight. I'm waiting for more feedback from users but in the meantime, the following link on the official forums is worth an upvote. If implemented properly, it would be a great addition to MSFS and while the release notes do say options will be coming in a future release, it very much feels like a beta function at this time.

 

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/tobii-eye-tracking-needs-configuration-options/472814

7 minutes ago, Matchstick said:

Right now in MSFS the Tobii is missing controls to configure the settings so you are stuck with the default which personally I find a little too sensitive,
It also only tracks rotation at the moment and not Up, Down, Left, Right, Fowards, Backways tracklng.

However I still prefer it right now to TrackIR because I hate having to wear the tracker on my headphones and as you mention TrackIR can get very confused if you wear glasses.
 

The Tobii also works as a Windows Hello camera so you can set it up to log you into windows automatically when you it sees you - very usefu but slightly creepy 🙂

Appreciate the reply, shame to hear about the missing controls. As I haven't followed Asobo's promises or roadmap in regards to Tobii, is it something they have planned or? I hear DCS allows for 6DOF with the Tobii now, so I assume with proper integration, that should also be possible with MSFS. But happy to hear you still prefer it, seems being free of having to wear anything and the lack of possible issues really is a big pull.

How does it work in low light situations, do you need to be in a well lit room for it to function optimally or is it tuned for low light as well?

2 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

I use the visor that Track IR sells ( around $10 ), the clip goes on the visor, it is light, open at the top, and I forget I am even wearing most of the time. You don't need that rig with the led unit mounted to a headset, it doesn't work any better than the standard clip, and the wire is a nuisance. Track IR is accurate, and I can place my joystick, or controls anywhere I want, and don't have to worry about it interfering with the tracking.

Yeah I had the regular TrackClip and I liked that even less, wearing something on my head and my headset, especially for sitting at home at my computer, just didn't feel great to me. Always just ended up going back to my trusty POV hat. 

3 minutes ago, Donka said:

I'm curious too. I tried it previously using FaceTrackNoIR and could never find a happy medium in MSFS 2020. It was either real time tracking but very jittery or buttery smooth but at the expense of lag. All depending on how you set up the beta filter that was being used. I ended up selling the Tobii but I'm planning on purchasing again for MSFS 2020 now official support is included as like you, I prefer tracking without the need to wear anything.

The issue at the moment appears to be there are no Tobii options in the sim meaning you can't adjust curves or sensitivity to fine tune to your tastes. The other issue with no options is you cannot select between head/eye/both for tracking. Some people only want head tracking without the eye tracking affecting things. Finally, there is no option in sim to pause Tobii which is another oversight. I'm waiting for more feedback from users but in the meantime, the following link on the official forums is worth an upvote. If implemented properly, it would be a great addition to MSFS and while the release notes do say options will be coming in a future release, it very much feels like a beta function at this time.

 

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/tobii-eye-tracking-needs-configuration-options/472814

What I like about Track IR is that you can zoom in and out by moving your head, to look at cockpit gauges closely, for instance, and you can move head from side to side, and up and down to look at overhead controls. So I can look anywhere in the DC6 cockpit for instance, just by looking around.  You can't do that with the Tobii unit. 

1 minute ago, Sethos said:

How does it work in low light situations, do you need to be in a well lit room for it to function optimally or is it tuned for low light as well?

It has IR emitters on it so it  seems capable of illuminating you fine. Certainly I've never had a problem with it tracking me properly, even when in a dark room with just Monitor on.

 

2 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

What I like about Track IR is that you can zoom in and out by moving your head, to look at cockpit gauges closely, for instance, and you can move head from side to side, and up and down to look at overhead controls. So I can look anywhere in the DC6 cockpit for instance, just by looking around.  You can't do that with the Tobii unit. 

The Tobii SDK supports that kind of 6DoF movement but it's up to the devs to enable it. Right now MS/Asobo haven't but according to the Tobii person on the forums yesterday they will suggest it to them.

Edited November 19, 20214 yr by Matchstick

1 minute ago, Sethos said:

How does it work in low light situations, do you need to be in a well lit room for it to function optimally or is it tuned for low light as well?

It uses IR for illumination so works fine in a dark room.

 

Just to add to my previous comments. The issues I had with Tobii through FaceTrackNoIR were software related as I used the same set up and beta filter with my TrackHat and had the exact same jitter or lag issues with that but using OpenTrack software, the Trackhat performed flawlessly. If they offered a Tobii plugin for Opentrack then I would be more than happy to use that but of course a proper, official implementation in the Sim is still the preference.

Its very Intresting to read a review and remarks of TrackIR when I have none of the probelms above.

I first had the Hat clip, I found light could bounce of it from other light scorces in the room and play havoc with it. I bought a ProClip and it was like going from night to day. In the last year with MSFS not once has TrackIR not work faultlesly. I also now wear reading glass and never had a problem at all with it once nore in DCS.

I do get why people dont like wearing something on there head, but I dont have speakers just a high end head set, with TrackIR pro clip cable taped to the headset cable, so its never a problem. I Personly would never use the hat clip again nore use anything else but the TrackIR. It works perfectly every time. I Personly find a great headset to be far better than speakers.

Edited November 19, 20214 yr by Nyxx

4 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

What I like about Track IR is that you can zoom in and out by moving your head, to look at cockpit gauges closely, for instance, and you can move head from side to side, and up and down to look at overhead controls. So I can look anywhere in the DC6 cockpit for instance, just by looking around.  You can't do that with the Tobii unit. 

If you you use Tobii through FaceTrackNoIR then it fully supports 6DOF tracking so you can move up & down or zoom forward or back. In fact I found the forward and back tracking even better with Tobii than TrackIR. Tobii fully support this, the problem is Asobo haven't implemented that support in this initial release.

I have a TrackHat clip - which is attached to a simple tennis headband, much more comfortable than wearing headphones for prolonged periods, and serves a dual purpose for those occasions when the landing doesn't exactly go as planned 🙂

As an alternative option, for those that have any kind of ar camera device (iPhone, tablet, spare android phone etc.) you can get an app called smooth track for about 15$ In which you can use as a head tracker, no headgear, no need to wear a hat with a tracker, just move your head around and works fantastic, I’ve been using it for about 2 months and works great. There are settings to allow for curve profiles to adjust to your liking. Move up, down, side to side, zoom in zoom out the whole works. 
Downside is you need a capable camera device, I bought a small stand for my iPhone that I leave in front of my computer so anytime I sim I just drop my phone on the stand, no need for adjustment of the stand, click start and I’m good to go with no setup (after the initial setup of course). It works so well I can’t sim without it. (Actually, head tracking in general I don’t think I can go without anymore.)

I know your asking about tobii but figured I’d throw it out there, can save a couple hundred dollars!

Edited November 19, 20214 yr by flyinpilot212121

4 minutes ago, flyinpilot212121 said:

As an alternative option, for those that have any kind of ar camera device (iPhone, tablet, webcam spare android phone etc.) you can get an app called smooth track for about 15$

Seems to be for Android or iOS only. I have a webcam directly plugged into my machine, obviously this doesn't work, does it?

Kind regards, Michael

8 minutes ago, flyinpilot212121 said:

As an alternative option, for those that have any kind of ar camera device (iPhone, tablet, webcam spare android phone etc.) you can get an app called smooth track for about 15$ In which you can use as a head tracker, no headgear, no need to wear a hat with a tracker, just move your head around and works fantastic, I’ve been using it for about 2 months and works great. There are settings to allow for curve profiles to adjust to your liking. Move up, down, side to side, zoom in zoom out the whole works. 
Downside is you need a capable camera device, I bought a small stand for my iPhone that I leave in front of my computer so anytime I sim I just drop my phone on the stand, no need for adjustment of the stand, click start and I’m good to go with no setup (after the initial setup of course). It works so well I can’t sim without it. (Actually, head tracking in general I don’t think I can go without anymore.)

I know your asking about tobii but figured I’d throw it out there, can save a couple hundred dollars!

For the price it looks great.

 

Edited November 19, 20214 yr by Nyxx