So...Does Tobii now work with MSFS flawlessly

[flyinpilot212121 724]

Hello All,

About to purchase a head tracker, looking at TrackIR but trying to avoid having to wear headgear. Anyone know if Tobii works with msfs with little to no issues?
I'm currently using the 15$ smoothtrack option but looking for something more dedicated and permanent.

[Tinribs 52]

Yes. Follows your eyes as well as your head. 

Just like DX12 - It's the future. 

[flyinpilot212121 724]

6 minutes ago, Tinribs said:

Yes. Follows your eyes as well as your head. 

Just like DX12 - It's the future. 

May be a dumb question but Just curious, Whats the purpose of it following your eyes? I'm not sure id want to pan around using just my eyes

[HPG 403]

I've always said the eye and head tracking products are the perfect middle ground between VR and pancake mode.

[Tinribs 52]

1 hour ago, flyinpilot212121 said:

May be a dumb question but Just curious, Whats the purpose of it following your eyes? I'm not sure id want to pan around using just my eyes

You would not pan around using your eyes, You would pan using your head.

But, just like driving a car, you would scan your dashboard or look into the rear view mirror using your eyes. So, scanning the BFP and GPS you use your eyes.

I also use the Tobii in games like Star Citizen & DCS. You would have to try it to see what I am trying to say.

[flyinpilot212121 724]

12 minutes ago, Tinribs said:

You would not pan around using your eyes, You would pan using your head.

But, just like driving a car, you would scan your dashboard or look into the rear view mirror using your eyes. So, scanning the BFP and GPS you use your eyes.

I also use the Tobii in games like Star Citizen & DCS. You would have to try it to see what I am trying to say.

Thank you for trying to describe as best you can, I’m thinking I’m closer to being sold on tobii 

[Donka 653]

I have switched from TrackIR to Tobii permanently and love it. The head tracking is spot on for me - just right in terms of sensitivity. The eye tracking allows you to gaze around the area your head is looking at - it doesn't track anywhere as much as head tracking but I like it with the following two caveats:

 

• Coming into land and I glance off to the side looking at the airport - granted not something a real pilot should be doing.
• Glancing over at tablets with maps etc.

 

The issue with the above is that when you look back, it can be a little disorientating seeing the view snap back into place when you only hadn't moved your head. It also makes focusing on instruments harder - you need to be very conscious to keep your eyes still to keep the instruments in sharp focus.

The biggest miss for me is the lack of full 6 DOF head tracking. It will track where you are looking flawlessly but Asobo didn't add the ability to move your POV e.g lean left or right or forward to get a closer look at instruments for example. The have promised settings and configuration will be coming so I hope to see full 6 DOF and the ability to toggle eye tracking off sometime in the near future. Curves or sensitivity settings would be a bonus but not a requirement for me. I have work arounds for the lack of head POV tracking and for me, none of this is a deal breaker. I much prefer the 100% perfect tracking and not needing to wear anything on my head.

For me it's off to a great start but they need to better utilise the hardware as Tobii offers more than Asobo have currently implemented.

[Matchstick 1,891]

The current negatives compared to TrackIR are that the moment the MSFS Tobii implementation only tracks your head as it rotates and not as you move it around. The tobii SDK supports tracking the movement so there seems no reason it couldn't be incorporated but that's dependent on MS/Asobo doing the work.
And there's no configuration options available, either in-game or in the Tobii software

However despite these I've pretty much entirely switched to using tobii in MSFS - having the tracking just work without needing to wear anything is just too good not to use it.

[flyinpilot212121 724]

7 minutes ago, Donka said:

I have switched from TrackIR to Tobii permanently and love it. The head tracking is spot on for me - just right in terms of sensitivity. The eye tracking allows you to gaze around the area your head is looking at - it doesn't track anywhere as much as head tracking but I like it with the following two caveats:

 

• Coming into land and I glance off to the side looking at the airport - granted not something a real pilot should be doing.
• Glancing over at tablets with maps etc.

 

The issue with the above is that when you look back, it can be a little disorientating seeing the view snap back into place when you only hadn't moved your head. It also makes focusing on instruments harder - you need to be very conscious to keep your eyes still to keep the instruments in sharp focus.

The biggest miss for me is the lack of full 6 DOF head tracking. It will track where you are looking flawlessly but Asobo didn't add the ability to move your POV e.g lean left or right or forward to get a closer look at instruments for example. The have promised settings and configuration will be coming so I hope to see full 6 DOF and the ability to toggle eye tracking off sometime in the near future. Curves or sensitivity settings would be a bonus but not a requirement for me. I have work arounds for the lack of head POV tracking and for me, none of this is a deal breaker. I much prefer the 100% perfect tracking and not needing to wear anything on my head.

For me it's off to a great start but they need to better utilise the hardware as Tobii offers more than Asobo have currently implemented.

Thank you for your insight,

If Im understanding correctly, you cant move your head closer to the screen to zoom in on instruments with Tobii?

[Donka 653]

3 minutes ago, flyinpilot212121 said:

If Im understanding correctly, you cant move your head closer to the screen to zoom in on instruments with Tobii?

Correct. This should be coming in a future update though as Tobii supports it and others sims have implemented it. You can use the FaceTrackNoIR app to get 6 DOF at the moment in MSFS using Tobii but it's in beta and the tracking just isn't up to the official implementation.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Donka

[flyinpilot212121 724]

12 minutes ago, Donka said:

Correct. This should be coming in a future update though as Tobii supports it and others sims have implemented it. You can use the FaceTrackNoIR app to get 6 DOF at the moment in MSFS using Tobii but it's in beta and the tracking just isn't up to the official implementation.

Thank you, even with that limitation I think im still sold on Tobii

[MarkDH 234]

26 minutes ago, flyinpilot212121 said:

Thank you, even with that limitation I think im still sold on Tobii

6DOF is a big deficit. Without it you can't look around door pillars, over the nose, or behind you out of the window. I think that's much more useful than eye tracking in a flight sim cockpit.

[DylanM 1,069]

 

58 minutes ago, Donka said:

you need to be very conscious to keep your eyes still to keep the instruments in sharp focus.

Agreed - on a large screen this can cause jitter if you have to shift focus quickly. 

There was also word a few days ago that Tobii is working with the devs to add more configuration options into the sim - that's good news.

[Bobsk8 12,816]

Track IR works well and has for years, can't imagine needing anything more for a flight sim. 

 

[Ianrivaldosmith 5,317]

2 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

Track IR works well and has for years, can't imagine needing anything more for a flight sim. 

 

I’ll let you know tomorrow as I ordered Tobii 5 to test via Amazon. Can always send it back if it turns out trackIR  is better. (Of which I’ve used for a decade).