Microvision laser projection gun hands-on
By Vlad Savov 
posted January 11th 2010 11:16AM
posted January 11th 2010 11:16AM
We got to test out an enemy-deprived Operation Flashpoint map, and picking up the controller and getting moving was surprisingly easy and intuitive. Picture clarity was decent at the huge sizes we tested things out at, but with some careful arrangement and a smaller projection this might really be good enough to replace your usual gaming monitor -- with the reason you'd want to execute such a swap being the fact that you can point your in-game gun and view in a more natural (and fun) fashion than PC and console control schemes allow. There's also a button locking the picture on a given spot, which allows you to negotiate the full 360 degrees in your game using a less than 180-degree gaming environment. It's hard to convey in words, but you'll see what we're talking about in the video. For our money, this is a terrific party piece, which can be massively enjoyable, but of course you run into the natural roadblock that arms will grow tired by any gaming session stretching beyond 10 or 15 minutes. Still, we'd totally buy one of these to share with our friends, if only it weren't so bleeding expensive. We don't know the actual price (or time of availability, since not even the company knows when these might be coming out), but the standalone projector costs $500 and the gun controller will be somewhere north of that.
The ultimate powerpoint presentation tool, a combined projector and controller guaranteed to keep your audience’s attention!!
... need to remove the little orange "fake gun" indicator tip first
@breeman that indicator needs to be there by US Law.
@(Unverified) True. So if I put an orange plastic plug in the end of my Glock, is it safe to play Cops and Robbers with, now?
@(Unverified) And the Captain Oblivious award goes to...
@(Unverified) wooosh
@breeman
Fuck that! I wanna play Duck Hunt on this thing.
@Eternity
Aw hell yeah! Duck Hunt would be awesome! and Time Crisis.
Wouldnt this need a spherical room?
@cestridge
You mean you still have one of those v1.0 rectangular ones?
@cestridge No. Did you watch the video?
Looks like it could do with a wider field of view though.
@cestridge Any room is fine as you look from near projector/rifle.
@Wwhat
Yep, I hope my girlfriend doesn't mind me repurposing the bedroom.
@cestridge and a "Virtual Insanity"-style moving floor! ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JkIs37a2JE )
Redneck techie will sue!
@cestridge As long as your eye is near the projector, the image you see will be pretty much undistorted regardless of what shape you project it on. It it's projected on surfaces of varying depth, then your eyes may have some issues trying to focus, but the projector will not.
As the video shows, a bigger problem than the shape of the room is dark objects being in the way, not reflecting the image. To solve this, you need a completely bare, white room, or else you need to hang some sheets around your living room.
@b34r
That was a really cool video, up until the couches hit their period. That aside, really cool.
Remix of the video above but in a matter we can do in our homes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds9jFpfObjg
@KingJustin o no u didn't...
seriously, do you think a bunch of nerds are gunna stand around in a dark room for hours holding a big gun while sweating and flailing aro... oh... nevermind
Pretty cool demo. However it seems to me that the on-screen hand holding a gun is at this point redundant.
@kirsch
Most games severely enforce it, and trying to undo it will have your system banned worldwide.
@Wwhat
You're kind of a constant downer huh?
@ElCapitan
Your analysis is incorrect, I'm sorry to inform you.
@Wwhat
Right, you'll get banned worldwide. That definitely makes sense...*face-palm*
FS2000
drooooll
@Ken J
You mean eww??? I dislike that gun. FN lost serious style points when they invented that one.
@ElCapitan
True, but do they get any back for the FiveseveN? Personally I'd let it slide cause I love the FNP9 in DA/SA. The only better gun I have in that category is my SIG. Damn you DoD for not picking the SIG! Friggin POS Beretta. Can't even get a decent 45 build unless you BYOG (which is a technical nono,but who cares, its my ass on the line)
Why is the tech designed to be so small, is the idea that you take this on your travels and whip it out when you get bored; in the queue at the bank perhaps? looks good fun mind.
Now just add one of those sensors like on DSLRs to go into scope...
The wife is just going to have to get over me converting the spare bedroom.
Need to google on how to do curved drywall ;-)
It should have been a P90 and the projector should have gone through the barrel not over it like that. Nice concept though.
@Jeff
That's not a P90? Looked like one to me.
Build it into a G36 frame though, and I'm sold
@sirphunkee
No it isnt.
http://world.guns.ru/smg/fn_p90_1.jpg
@Jeff
Right-o, I didn't look past the similarly-sculpted thumbguard. Looking closer, this one smacks of Master Chief's gun.
There's still a ton of gun chassis I'd rather see this converted to, hopefully they'll have other options upon release
@sirphunkee
No, it's based on the FN Herstal FS2000 (Civilian Model)
http://www.impactguns.com/store/media/fn/FNH_CB_FS2000_Right.jpg
@ScottishDan
Yea, too bad no one in the military uses a "civilian model" gun. TBH I dont know what they were thinking. If it were a P90, M4, G36 people might actually be more interested.
How fun would Guitar Hero be if the controller was shaped like a violin?
@Jeff
Given the exposed wiring in place of a charging handle, chances are pretty good it's just a demo model.
Just relax, people.
@Jeff
Well they had a lot of stuff to well stuff into the frame so I figured they just picked a frame that looked bulky enough to fit a prototype and stuck with it. Personally I don't mind so much. Oh and as far as the military using "civilian versions" of weapons just what would you call the M40 series of rifles? Granted they are "modified" Remmy 700's but its all modifications you could a) make yourself or b) buy off the shelf as a package from Remmy or any other store. Though I do understand what you are getting at, not to bust your balls or anything.
Maybe they thought if they picked the most ridiculous looking weapon frame that if someone decided to be funny and remove the orange cap that no one would take them seriously. For all this though I could have broken down a pico projector and with a few radioshack parts and my most expendable AR build I could have done the same thing (of course the total true cost would then be around $800, but I had some of the parts already :)
@Col Readily Apparent
Or a BB gun. Those things are realistic enough and weight should be kept to a minimum. Unless, of course, you are so ripped you really cant tell the difference between the real thing and a toy.
Well said though. And I understand that its just a prototype.
jizz, meet pants.
just get a curcular treadmill and hook up to moving controls and you have VR FPS
You would think that they could use a projector that didnt have such a flaming gay splash screen for mounting on something like a gun...
Keep both your eyes open when aiming
The MEMS mirror is actually scanning out the whole image at 60 hz, so it's pivoting along one axis at 60 * 480 hz (28.8 Khz) or higher, and along the other at 60 hz. Pretty nice bit of technology, actually.
I imagine the keystone effect in a normal room would make this not as cool to behold.
@PaladinX13 If your eyes are close to the projector, then you won't see a keystone-shaped image. It will appear just like the projector projects it (rectangular, in this case). Only an observer who is further away from the projector will see a distorted image.
@CityZen that's exactly this issue... in a normal, non-circular room, you will not be equidistant from every wall thus ANY degree off perpendicular is going to result in different distances and keystone effects UNTIL you reach another equidistant perpendicular wall. So, basically, this is useless for anything except a circular room, which- if you're going to the trouble of building- there are better solutions to this problem.
Not too concerned with style. I was seconds away from purchasing one a while back thinking that the prices would come down since it was a new gun then. I'm kicking myself now cuz the damn thing is double the price now.
Its light and comfortable.
I would like the projector to be a head mounted 3D version and the gun to be replaceable with other controllers/weapons - like a light saber or a baseball bat or golf club. Should be able to do a Natal version with this projector.
I would SO BUY THAT!! Will it be put into production and when is it available!?
pretty awesome although in practice @ least in an online play environment you'd get your ass handed to you vs mouse keyboard / controller players