Introduction: Raspberry Pi Wearable Computer.
This is just a very quick demo of the wearable computer I made for a CyberpunkLARP game a friend of mine was running.
The whole thing was a bit of a throw together, with additional bits and pieces being bolted on (ok, taped on) at the last minute.
It consists of the following components:
The video glasses were originally damaged. Only the left lens worked consistently. So I cut them in two (no wiring went over the bridge of the nose) and assembled a headset using a cheap boom mike/earpiece, some wire and a lot of Sugru.
When running, it draws between 700mAh and an amp. So in theory the two 6v batteries in parallel should run it for between 4 and 5 hours.
It is capable of viewing web pages, although due to the low quality of the MyVu eyepiece, you really wouldn't want to try and focus on it for too long.
The software (the green screened database application shown) was written very hastily in Python. I deliberately made the font size extremely large (you only got about 10 lines on the screen) as this seemed to eliminate eye strain (mostly). The data itself was held in a MySQL database.
The overall effect was a display hanging in front of you about 40 cm across at 1.5 metres away. This worked especially well with the green lettering of the software I wrote as you didn't really see the square screen... just the letters overlaid in front of your vision.
As I said, it was made for a CyberpunkLARP game (click either of those terms for a definition) and worked surprisingly well. This particular game was very well run and had things in place so that players could hack into the accounts of other players. The fact that I could do this whilst having a conversation with someone was great. Although it did tend to freak people out a little when I zoned out staring off into space.
Ok, it's not Google Glass... but then again, it didn't cost me $1500 to make!
UPDATE : New video with much more detail
The whole thing was a bit of a throw together, with additional bits and pieces being bolted on (ok, taped on) at the last minute.
It consists of the following components:
- Belt
- Raspberry Pi
- MyVu Crystal video glasses (damaged - only left lens worked properly)
- USB Network Adaptor
- USB Bluetooth Adaptor
- Bluetooth keyboard
- 5v power regulator (DC-DC LM2596 Converter Buck Adjustable Step Down Regulator Power Module 1.2-35V)
- 2x 6v 2.3Ah sealed lead-acid batteries - wired in parallel.
- Mini LED Digital Volt Meter
- Various wiring, switches and fuses.
The video glasses were originally damaged. Only the left lens worked consistently. So I cut them in two (no wiring went over the bridge of the nose) and assembled a headset using a cheap boom mike/earpiece, some wire and a lot of Sugru.
When running, it draws between 700mAh and an amp. So in theory the two 6v batteries in parallel should run it for between 4 and 5 hours.
It is capable of viewing web pages, although due to the low quality of the MyVu eyepiece, you really wouldn't want to try and focus on it for too long.
The software (the green screened database application shown) was written very hastily in Python. I deliberately made the font size extremely large (you only got about 10 lines on the screen) as this seemed to eliminate eye strain (mostly). The data itself was held in a MySQL database.
The overall effect was a display hanging in front of you about 40 cm across at 1.5 metres away. This worked especially well with the green lettering of the software I wrote as you didn't really see the square screen... just the letters overlaid in front of your vision.
As I said, it was made for a CyberpunkLARP game (click either of those terms for a definition) and worked surprisingly well. This particular game was very well run and had things in place so that players could hack into the accounts of other players. The fact that I could do this whilst having a conversation with someone was great. Although it did tend to freak people out a little when I zoned out staring off into space.
Ok, it's not Google Glass... but then again, it didn't cost me $1500 to make!
UPDATE : New video with much more detail
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17 Comments
5 years ago
OK I'M REALLY CONFUSED did you make an ACTUAL-WEARABLE-COMPUTER OR just some add on accessory for another game.
Seriously, please i'd realy like 2 know if your able to run a whole computer through dat lense.
Reply 5 years ago
Yes, it was a fully functional wearable computer.
Reply 5 years ago
It was a real computer.
7 years ago
Please provide the full instructables.
8 years ago on Introduction
honestly cool but please post how to make this project.
9 years ago on Introduction
Wow
9 years ago
Could you post how to make it?
9 years ago on Introduction
can i buy it from you mate?
10 years ago on Introduction
After a while does your brain get used to seeing normally with the right eye and the text with the left, so one seems just superimposed on the other?
Reminds me of the Apache pilots who cani do two tasks simultaneously with different information coming into each eye, after a lot of training of course.
Tried a monocular display a few years ago with Olympus eye-trek glasses. Have some myvu crystals on order from US, but very hard to find as seem not to be made any more.
Am aiming for a Borg-style arrangement this time around, not fixed to any sort of glasses frame that is for sure.
All the best
John
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
It did become fairly natural after a while. The mind seems to tune out the frame and dark bits... you just see the image floating there.
However, I've never been particularly good at multitasking, and it was only for one weekend... so I didn't end up doing the Apache pilot thing with each eye working independently!
The MyVu glasses are quite old now. The resolution is not great and the optics are worse. The Oculus Rift is being released soon... That looks like it has massive potential.
10 years ago on Introduction
Did the GM's integrate your computer into the RPG proper? The closest I've ever come to doing that was to set up a small wLAN at a game and drop terminals on different floors. One of the other game-masters created a chat-app and we had 1 person acting as control.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
The game had a website that ran on the intranet.
Every player had an account plus there were about 400 NPC accounts. Emails could be sent between them.
Hacking into a persons account was accomplished by way of a hacking system which took the players skill level into account, along with the level of the computer being used (a mobile phone would be level 1... a top of the range computer would be 5) The higher the security level of an account, the longer it took to break in to (you effectively had to keep clicking on buttons to simulate this effort - if you failed to do so in time then the attempt failed) Once you had access to someones account you could read their email, transfer their money, post as them or search their files. If an account was of too high a security level to break on your own, you could team up with other players to crack it.
There were also about 100 companies and organisations. Everything on the intranet was accessible to the right person. So if you needed access to a particular corporation's records, you needed to get into an employee's account to do so.
My headset is capable of accessing web pages, and hence capable of accessing the game's hacking system (although, true to form, I did have some network issues on the day!)
I had also written my own application for the headset which stored any information I had already gleaned and allowed me to recall it. This included people's passwords, associations and general info about them.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
Oh that's sooo awesome. That's the sort of thing I've wanted to do in LARPS for a long time.
10 years ago on Introduction
What cyberpunk LARP was this designed for?
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
It was for a game named ColdHorizon which ran for one weekend a year for the past six years. It was based in Wiltshire, UK
The game running at the beginning of this February was the final game. The story arc completed. It was bloody amazing. :-)
10 years ago on Introduction
By any chance, do you have a link to your video?
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
Sure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7nnYs0ZEvk
I really want to sit down and make a better video. Just need the time!