Since I first got my hands on the GearVR controller I've been enjoying the natural feel of point and click controls, first person shooting, flight simulator and even golf and sword controls. I was pleased to find some driving games that were compatible with the GearVR controller, but I found that one handed driving just didn't feel right. I've been trying to teach myself 3D modelling, using Autodesk Fusion 360, so I decided to design and build a steering wheel mount for the GearVR controller. Check out this awesome Instructable.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Steering-Wheel-for-GearVR-Controller

Autodesk Fusion 360 offers a full featured free trial. After the free trial is up, you can keep the modelling software for free as an educator, student or hobbyist.
My first step was to model a copy of the GearVR controller. I would need that layer to cutout a mold from the steering wheel mount at the end. Since I'm new to 3D modelling I tried to keep things as simple as possible.

Once the model was complete, I was able to select each part or body of the steering wheel mount and save each part as a separate .stl file. The .stl files are ready to be used by a 3D printing slicer program like Cura.

Cura is a free slicer program that does a great job generating .gcode tool path files for 3D printers. I use Octoprint to run my Anet A8 Prusa i3 clone 3D printer. My Octoprint has an older version of Cura built in and is capable of slicing .stl files internally, but I prefer to slice the files on my laptop and send the .gcode to Octoprint ready for printing.

If you own a 3D printer, I highly recommend Octoprint. Octoprint installs on a Raspberry Pi and allows you to control the printer wirelessly over your Wi-Fi network. Octoprint also comes ready to support many popular webcams to allow remote monitoring and recording of timelapse video of your prints.

I've tested VR Karts and Overtake so far. Both of those games work flawlessly with the Steering wheel mount control. I have seen a couple new games recently in the gallery apps section of the Oculus store, which I will be trying out soon. Below is a fast forward look at the design, build, and play steps.

My first VR headset was a Cardboard made from a Coca-Cola box and my first drone was a Hubsan X4. After experiencing both separately, it didn't take long before I wanted to combine the two technologies and fly a done using a VR headset for a first person view (FPV). Unfortunately, I am limited by my lack of android programming skills and by my budget.With a little research I found that with a little money I could make it happen.

My Hubsan X4 has a camera, but it doesn't have a way to transmit the video live. Since it also doesn't have the lift to carry the necessary hardware to add a transmitter, I knew I would need to upgrade my drone. After shopping around I settled on the MJX400. This drone had the live wifi transmitter I was looking for, with an android compatible app to view and record the live video, in side by side format, and all for a price I could deal with. $79.99 on Amazon for the DBPOWER MJX X400W FPV Drone with Wifi Camera Live Video

In the pictures above, I am running the MJX FPV app on my phone, which is mounted on the RC transmitter. You can also see the MJX400 drone's size next to my Samsung Galaxy Note 5. The most current MJX FPV app is not available in the Google Play app store, so in order to get this working I needed to download the app from the drone manufacturer's website.
​http://www.mjxtoys.com/down/70.html

Since the app wasn't downloaded from the Play app store, I had to change my security settings to allow installation of apps from unknown sources. The app runs good on my Note 5 and on my older S5. when the drone is powered on, it creates a wifi access point. Before starting the app, go to wifi settings and find the MJX wifi access point and connect. Once the phone connects to the MJX wifi you can startup the MJX FPV app. Then press monitor and you should see the live video. Finally, by pressing the 3D button the video stream is spit into a side by side view, for use in a VR headset.

This setup will work with a Google Cardboard or compatible VR headset. But for the best image quality from a mobile VR headset, it's hard to beat the Samsung Gear VR headset. Since the MJX FPV app is not setup for the Oculus mobile SDK, the Oculus service needs to be disabled, so that you can run the MJX FPV app from inside the Gear VR. For instructions on disabling the Oculus service, See my previous post.
​http://www.divideworks.com/projects/hack-your-gear-vr

With the Oculus service disabled, running the app, on the Gear VR, is the same as running it for Cardboard. Connect to the drone's wifi, startup the app and press monitor. when you have a lived video feed, press the 3D button to view in side by side VR mode. since there is only one camera, the FPV image is not 3D and the resolution isn't great, but you can see a live video feed, using your Gear VR, while you pilot a drone!
unfortunately, the MJX FPV app does not have a setting to adjust the display, to suit your headset. The result is that the Gear VR lenses zoom in on the image, providing a narrow field of view. I've found I get the best image, using a $15 Cardboard ready headset, from Walmart.

Just in time for Halloween, it's VR Car Zombies with a natural user interface. In a previous project I learned that a PS3 remote worked perfectly with my Android games when plugged into a USB OTG cable. So, when I found a PS3 steering wheel and pedals controller, for $5 at a garage sale, I hadhigh hopes that it would work the same way. Sure enough, the steering worked as an analog left & right controller and the gas & brake pedal worked as square & X buttons.

Once I had proved the controller worked with my old Samsung Galaxy S5 I needed a game that would be compatible with VR and with the controls. Since I have no Android programming skills, I needed to find a published game to use. I found several VR car driving games, but some don't use a 1st person view and others don't have controller support. I found some that gave you a view from the drivers seat and used a game controller, but the throttle and brake buttons were different than what I needed. I finally found what I was looking for in VR Car Zombies.

With a suitable app selected I decided I would build a platform for the steering wheel and pedals. My office chair at work had recently torn through the back. When I requested a new back to my chair, I recieved a whole new chair. Since it is impossible for me to throw anything away I stashed the busted chair in my garage until I could find a use for it. It looked like the chair was going to be revived as a virtual zombie escape vehicle. I would need to sew a new back for the chair, but I also needed to design a mount attached to the chair that could hold the steering wheel and pedals securely in place.

I had some 1-1/8" tubing laying around and I have a tubing bender, so I thought I would give it a work out. My goal was to make 90 degree bends as close as possible to each other to make a tight offset from the bottom of the chair down to the floor. I bent another piece of tubing to come up and carry the steering wheel. Once all the pieces were bent and notched to fit together, it was off to the Makerspace to be welded. I also welded some fence post tubing, which was just large enough to allow the 1-1/8" tubing to slide through it, to the bottom of the armrests. After fitting everything up, I found some sheet metal, to use for the floor pan. I decided to add a caster wheel to the front so that the frame sits just off the ground and can swivel. I formed a sheet metal panel for the front, just for looks. Now the frame needed a paint job.

With everything painted black it was time to breakout the sewing machine. I found some old vinyl material, from a pool table cover that my dogs had chewed up. The hardest part was be remembering where it's been stashed away for the last ten years.

This project was a fun build. Finding new ways to incorporate NUIs natural use interfaces for use with VR interests me. I find a NUI helps with the feeling of immersion. As VR continues to develope I'll be looking for new ways to interface with the technology in a natural user friendly way. Until then, I'll be running over zombies.

#insidersgear360
Click the image below to enter the 360 degree virtual tour of the Pikes Peak Makerspace. This tour was made using photos taken with my Samsung Gear360 and roundme.com
Look around and select the hotspots to move throughout the space. You can even use the menu button to switch to VR mode and view in your VR headset.

#insidersgear360

​Making your own VR content is easy with the Samsung Gear 360 camera. With the option to record both still photos and video in both 180 degrees and 360 degrees. setting up the Gear 360 couldn't have been easier. I simply inserted the battery and SD card then plugged in the charger until the charging indicator LED turned green and I was ready to begin. For step by step instructions Check out this awesome Instructable.


http://www.instructables.com/id/Gear360-VR-Home-Video

The controls on the camera provide a simple stand alone interface with the Gear 360, which allows you to switch between photos and video and dual lense or single lense. You can also adjust the timer function, so you can press the shutter button and then get yourself into the shot.

While the integral controls are convenient and simple to use for basic functions, they do not offer access to all of the camera's features. To get the most out of the Gear360 you should download the Samsung Gear360 app. The app provides an easy to use interface with the camera and gives you a real time image preview on your phone.

one of the few features not available in the app is stitching the highest quality 4k 360 videos. This may actually be a short coming off my phone and not the app. I have a Note 5, but I have heard it can be done on the S7. Since I don't have plans to upgrade to the S7 anytime soon, I will be using Action Director on my Windows PC to render 4K video. Action Director also let's you do some editing to your videos like adding titles, slow or fast motion effects and transitioning multiple videos together.

The image below is a still frame from a 360 degree video taken on the highest resolution. I was standing about 15 feet away from the camera. The image on the right was rendered using the Gear360 app, while the image on the right is from video rendered using the Action Director software on my laptop. Keep in mind, the screenshots are both taken by pausing the video and zooming in. You can see the Action Director image quality is sharper.