/Δ/ - diy/projects

The aesthetic is strong, but I think if you're using VR and moving away from good keyboards that a fully wearable solution with steno gear is what you should be aiming for.

>>789

That's a great idea! I didn't even think of it being fully wearable.

I just started looking into wearable steno gear, came across this site: http://www.openstenoproject.org/

Seems like the best place to start in that regard.

If I could make a wrist-worn stenograph, then retrofit a simple VR controller such as the one that comes with the Daydream headset into a glove for the typing hand, then either make the actual computer into a standalone or wearable piece of hardware, I think I'd be getting somewhere.

Can I do any of that? Probably not haha! But I love thinking of these ideas and will definitely be sketching some designs out.

>>790
The hard part is the steno interface, but it can't be much harder than a custom laptop. I think a lot of people envision them being mounted on thighs. I think mounting them on the chest, e.g. on the strap of a messenger bag, makes more sense. Moving away from the standard steno design might enable something more exotic like steno gloves.

Cable management is less of a challenge. The computer and headset can be entirely off the shelf.

>>791
Given the fact that this is my first real exposure to stenography, yeah definitely going to be the hardest part. However, from what I can tell so far, I think it will be necessary, and worth the effort, for my concept to be functional as an everyday design/development environment. Hot keys, macros, key banks to cycle through that are set up for different tasks or softwares, steno seems to make sense in creating an efficient and convenient build.

Steno gloves is definitely an interesting idea. I am trying to think something ergonomic as well, because I don't want it to mess with people's joints or anything. Creating something that requires holding harmful postures and positions is not on my agenda. Maybe there is a way to combine the stenogear with the VR controller? And then after there is a working iteration, retrofit it into a wearable glove.

And you mentioned mounting a steno onto the strap of a bag. If I were to go the portable, fully wearable route, that would be viable. But I worry that having to reach up often or holding your arm in such a way if you're doing coding of any sort would be uncomfortable.

I am surprised at how far I am thinking and looking into this, and I appreciate these great thoughts!

So this is turning into a bit of a project, definitely going to be designing some concept art for this at the very least, but with how much I am looking into it I'm planning to develop this fully when I have the resources to do so. Not sure what to call it, but essentially this is going to be a VR "steno-deck" or "steno-suit" depending on if I go the stationary or portable route that will provide a VR interactive design/development environment.

Found an affordable, bare-bones piece of stenogear that should be released soon (https://www.gboards.ca/product/georgi). I'm wondering if I would best off with something prefabricated and open for retrofitting like this or if fabricating the steno myself would be better. Not sure yet, but am eager to get my hands on one of these anyways because I need to learn more about how the mapping and use of a stenoboard works.

Doing some research into available VR headsets as well, and I am unfortunately not finding anything that is third-party enough to be ready for modifications and retrofitting into the scope of my project. I may very well need to design and develop a custom headset, but I will save that headache for another day. For now, being new to it and all, focusing on the steno portion is enough.

Another issue will be VR tracking for the controller/glove that will enable the user to interact with the environment. This will probably be one of the last parts in the development stage.

The computing part itself should be simple enough, components are easy to come by and getting some custom housing made won't be an issue either. All I need is enough computing power to run the VR environment and relevant software. No matter what I end up needing, it should be feasible.

Anyways, that's where I am at right now. Becoming a bit obsessed with this idea, but if I ever want to make it real I think it is necessary. Let's see where this goes!

>>793
i don't have anything to add, but it sounds cool, and i wonder what will come of it.

>>794

I am wondering where this will go as well. I've been really busy with a lot of soykaf at work and finding a better job, maintaining my health and relationship. But, somewhat forcefully, I am still finding moments to work on this.

I ended up ordering a stenoboard after doing some decent-but-not-too-decent research. I have a tendency to go overboard with research to the point that I lose focus and scope. So I stayed conscious of that and didn't dive too deep. I'm really hoping that it will come soon, I am eager to learn to write/type with it. Got to start somewhere! This will be the first tangible piece of progress I will have towards making this a reality.

Beyond that I'm just moving along in the concept stage. I have decided to include haptic feedback after a friend mentioned how a lot of VR lacks proper tactile features. I agreed and am looking into current VR accessories like gloves to see where a good starting point would be to enable users to feel their interactions in virtual space.

I also came to the conclusion that I will be looking to develop my own hardware for nearly everything. Especially for the actual headset itself. I don't want any of this to be tied to any company that is currently making VR gear. If this project is going to be open source and for always, then it needs to be able to stand on its own. And without any real third-party options, I will just have to make one!

Once I have my stenoboard and have practiced for a while (my first true goal is to be able to write up a simple webpage using chords) I'll start designing the mount for it. Between then and now I want to work on concept art for the machine as a whole.

>>795
gboards guy here, we actually tested Georgi with pants and it works surprisingly well. Also you don't need to learn steno to get the compactness, I've spent the last few weeks hacking on QMK to make general QWERTY input much saner! And because it's just a keyboard you can yank that off of your control unit.

What you'll want is something portable, powerful enough for basic VR. If you ordered a Georgi, contact me using the site and I'll fast track your order

http://docs.gboards.ca/Unboxing-Georgi

>>798
Pants were suggested by someone else I know too. It's definitely something I want to test out. I have my reservations. Ultimately, wearability, swappability, and efficiency are the key functions I need the controller and board to be based off.

But, in other news, my boards came in the mail yesterday! I very patiently waited and it was well worth it, because this guy is amazing. It's going to take a bit of time to get used to it but I'm already finding a flow after an hour of practicing. I can see myself being up to my normal speeds within two weeks and surpassing them within a month.

Eventually I will design a case for both to be used together, and then a wearable solution that would make use of just one. At least that is what I think I will do, as always these things are subject to change.

Soon, though, I will be sharing some concept sketches that I have been working on for the general design and functions of the physical device(s).

I'm also investing in some small electronics to get started with engineering the innards (raspberry pi, arduino, etc). I'll be using these to create some of the embedded and swappable components of the greater machine, but eventually I will be getting deeper into CE to build the greater machine from raw materials as much as possible.

That's the update for now

>>800
This is a fascinating project.
I would love to see you make a separate website/blog and any way to contact you.

During the summer I'm diving into engineering and hopefully can contribute to this.

As for the embedded components: I suggest you look into Nucleo 432 https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/nucleo-l432kc.html
not bad for $10 huh.

>>801
I appreciate the interest, a few people have asked me to start a dedicated blog so I definitely plan on it. I'm a web designer by trade anyways so just a matter of finding the time to set something up. Soon!

As for contact you can click my name on any of my posts here, there should be an email it links to.

I'm down for any kind of help or contributions though! I want this to be a big project that has a scope beyond just me making electronics in my office.

Thanks for that link, it seems quite capable for 10 bucks! It's on my buy list now.

I forgot to mention in my last update that my system is going to be based on unix/linux and I stumbled across some open-source software for a VR desktop running on linux if anyone wants to check it out for their own uses: https://arcan-fe.com/2018/03/29/safespaces-an-open-source-vr-desktop/

Seems promising.

Got debian running on RISC-V… which is emulated on my little FPGA board.

>>806
YES

This makes me so happy to see, it's not even funny. I have been watching lectures on RISC-V the past two days and it seems like a very adaptive development standard. The FPGA stuff is still over my head, but RISC-V I am at least able to see the scope of.

Seeing a RISC-V board in action is so satisfying, I'm really excited to keep learning. I have hopes that this development architecture will lend itself well to the goals of this project.

Of which I will be launching a website for in the next few weeks!

As a side note: my typing speeds have dramatically improved with my stenoboard! I'm going to try my hand this weekend at some keymapping so I can create toggle for developer macros to speed up my coding as well :)

>>807
how slow is it compared to typing on a normal keyboard?
do you think you'll improve yet?

>>807
Awesome, we need a place to collect this stuff at. Considering I'm doing this almost full-time I will have a LOT to share. I want this available to general public.

>>808
Since getting started I am typing at about 75% my normal typing speeds. I will definitely be able to type faster once I get used to the layout. Compared to a full keyboard it is a very different experience and the ergonomics are taking some time to adjust to, but the benefits in terms of comfort are already obvious.

I attached an image of the stenoboard for reference, hoping it goes through.

>>809
Yes, we definitely do. My passion and efforts alone won't be the only pieces to this machine becoming real, and having a hub for people to subscribe to, participate in, and contribute to is necessary and will honestly just be a cool place to hang out for people like us!

So been doing my best to find open-source VR headsets.

1) https://github.com/relativty/Relativ/blob/master/README.md

2) https://github.com/atmosxr/atmos-dk1

3) http://www.osvr.org/

The first link is to a very affordable DIY headset that was developed by a couple of teenagers and their math professor, which I absolutely love. I think that that git is my favorite finding so far in my searches.

The second links to the git for an XR headset that aims to create web-specific experiences. I'm only interested in the hardware here, as it is a cleaner and more robust piece of hardware that will have room for improvements than the previous. However, it is meant to be stand-alone and I am not sure if that is necessary with the machine I envision.

Lastly, this third link is to a less-than-promising source. It has links that go to multiple different places but everything there seems to be "discontinued" or "out of stock" or not findable at all. It's quite annoying and I only listed it here to express my frustrations with how they have no information that details why nothing that they list is truly available, or even O-S. Because the HDK1 & HDK2 link to razer.com which is not a manufacturer that outright does O-S.

So that is my findings for this aspect of the project at the current moment for anyone who is looking to use an O-S headset as well. And if anyone knows of any other Open-Source VR/AR/XR headsets that are readily available to be used in development, feel free to link them as well. The more the merrier!

>>811

For anyone who is curious this project is not dead. In fact the scope of it all grew so much that I decided to go back to school to learn what I need to accomplish it. Besides that I have been networking with a lot of really talented people, gathering a whole bunch of research, and even quit my job to get a better one that is remote to afford more time to dedicate. Really excited to share more details with everyone is it goes. I guess I'm in it for the long haul!