help: DIY heads up display

Discussion in 'Intelligence & Machines' started by snowfox222, Jul 25, 2008.

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  1. yeah, um im trying to build a low tech heads up display

    using a pair of paintball goggles

    how would i go about projecting the data on the lens of the goggles
    i mean i know there is devices that project things on glass
    but i dont know if i can program them
     
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  3. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    Hold a book up to your face as close as the goggles are, and try to read anything.. our eyes can't resolve images that close to our face. That's why current head mounted HUD's are great big huge things.
     
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  5. ahh this is why i ask

    i know that it cant be done through direct screen but its still possible to do
    hhmmmm i should explain more in depth

    my inspiration for this was my deep envy of fictional cyborgs and the high definition video goggles i found on thinkgeek.com
    those goggles cover both eyes
    i only want use on one eye there fore opening up the possibility for visual contact to the rest of the world and not just shutting out everything and permanently being glued to a computer and only that
     
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  7. also the goggles are just a frame for now
     
  8. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    I think I know what you want snowfox...because I want the same thing. I want a hud built into my glasses that feeds me real time information..a la robo cop.

    Although I'm sure someone is doing research on this...as it is just too cool not to invent...right now current technology seriously limits a DIY answer.

    However..if I had to "Macgyver" one with available parts to me it would go like this:

    I would start with a base of a construction hard hat..it has a nice inner support frame...and attach a 3 point chinstrap for maximum stablity..cause this sucker is going to be heavy. A football helmet would also work nicely.

    The only projectors that are currently available to me at my computer recycling job look like this:

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    You would have to mount it to the top of the helmet like a shark fin in order to keep the balance and position the lens correctly.

    Extending outward from the top of the helmet would be a couple of aluminum supports that would hold a mirror that would reflect the image downward onto a small piece of plexiglass positioned a few inches from your face.

    Since the projector uses only wall current..and a lot of it...you would need a large battery and inverter in a backpack to run the thing...plus a laptop to run the software.

    Hey...it might work...be heavy as hell and unwieldy. but it might work...and you did say low tech.
     
  9. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    um MacGyver1968 are you sure about that?
    i was watching something on australian millatry equiptment where the solder had a camera on the end of his rifle and it relayed the pics directly to a set of glasses (normal looking glasses) so that he could just stick the gun around a corner and see whats there without exposing themselves to danger
     
  10. hey guys i just found the answer of awesomness

    check this url
    http://www.shopwildplanet.com/prod/WPT70133.html

    with this we can rewire it to anything we would ever want
    the video cable coming from the headset is just a 3.5mm 3-contact phono jack so it should be easy to configure to an rca cable after that you have the power supply and its done
     
  11. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    No..I'm not sure...

    If that's true..then cool.

    But still..that's military technology, that might take a while to get to the average "Do it Yourself-er" .

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  12. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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  13. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    i think the police are using the same tech on there robots so that they can search places for explosives in safty
     
  14. wait
    a minute

    do you seriously get those returned at where you work?
     
  15. because if you do maybe we could work something out here
     
  16. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    Wish I could...anytime you return something to Radio Shack that is defective..some of it comes my company for recycling...unfortunately their contract is "Destroy only" which means no employees can buy it if it works...unlike our contract with Costco...where we can.
     
  17. that is no fair
    theres probably working headmounted screens and im missing out
    radioshack sucks
     
  18. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    Oh...it's funny to watch employees when a new shipment of Costco returns comes in...all of their stuff has stickers on it with the reason it was returned. 85% of it is crap that really doesn't work..but somewhere around 15% has return reasons like "it was the wrong color" or "it didn't fit under my cabinet"...and everyone from VP's to line workers hoover over that shit like vultures...looking for that rare gem.
     
  19. do you know any places that would sell scrap electronics?
     
  20. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    ebay...but that's some serious macgyvering...do you have a background in electronics?
     
  21. in the fifth grade i built a magnetic coil projectile launcher and didnt know the military already built one

    i made it from an alarm cclock and a disposable camera
     
  22. MacGyver1968 Fixin' Shit that Ain't Broke Valued Senior Member

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    7,028
    That's great...but with any new idea, you have to do a "feasibility study" and determine what it would take to create the new object from beginning to end. It's fun to think about making new things...I do it all the time...but actually creating it in the real world of physics can be time consuming and frustrating. You have to develop a plan from start to finish, and not just see the final product.

    It's cool you have the "building desire"...I have it too. You just need to learn to crawl before you walk...and this is like running the Boston Marathon.

    Learning Ohm's law could be a start. Look it up..it will open your eyes to how electricity really works.
     
  23. actually i looked into the design of the device just now

    and it seems like the only problem with my plan is that it formats in pal and not ntsc
    and that shouldnt be hard to fix as most prebuilt devices support both formats and can usually be fixed by removing a resistor

    with your idea about the glasses
    it should be pretty easy to find the right hardware i know there are afew companies that sell devices that scan images on to glass and other reflective materials
    it might be hard to get the right angle and light filtering to get it to work on a pair of sunglasses but not impossible

    if you really want to make it you might want to look into Kopin. they make all kinds of stuff like that. well atleast the projection systems anyway
    tell me if you do and how it turns out i might be able to help
     
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