The folks at Wild Planet saw Jake Hildebrandt’s head-mounted display hack and our item here and posted the following contest offer to our Comments:
Thanks to Jake, for the great hack! So sorry the website is out of stock.
Our engineering group has a bin of extra headsets (pre-production samples,
engineering test units, etc.) we’d like to make available to 10 clever
hackers.Email us with a one-paragraph proposal of what cool thing you’re going to
do with your own cyborg headset. Best 10 answers we receive by 5PM tomorrow
(Oct. 10) receive a headset. No guarantees-these aren’t production samples,
but they’re free, right?email us: hack(at)wildplanet(dot)com
Much love,
Wild Planet Engineering Team
32 thoughts on “Instant Contest: Win a Spy Video Car headset”
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Not that I could do this, but…
I’d love to see this hacked into a Compact Flash adapter for my PDA. Then I could run the GPS software on it and view it on my HUD while hiking.
I’m a programmer and I’ve been wanting to build a development platform for wearables for a while. I’d build a wearable using a nano-itx board in a sealed cast aluminum case and use this as a HUD the idea is for the entire case to act as the heat sync i have access to machine tools and a furnace to cast the aluminum the only thing that I was missing is an affordable display.
It’s cool that people are posting their ideas here, but don’t forget to send them to Wild Planet (email in the post).
another great use of this would be as the eye piece for a video microscope on a electronics bench this would make board inspection much less of a pain in the neck. with the scope over a xy table and some accelerometers head motion could change the position of the board for a real fly over effect.
I’ve already got a headset, but what I would like to see someone do is try to develop a sub-$150 wearable computing development platform for undergraduate studies.
To whit: This display, a $20 Playstation 2 USB thumbboard, and someone’s (and I can’t remember whose) $30 ARM9-based USB-Master card-reading settop box designed for displaying digital photos on the television. Optionally you could probably add USB wifi and USB sound output.
The only custom hardware necessary would be a battery housing – most of the work would be in loading on uClinux and working out display drivers and a good method of relaying information from the wearable.
I sent my idea in!
Remount the eyepiece in a steampunk brass casing, and use it as the video feed from a helium filled remote-controlled zeppelin in a similar style.
Sent a few ideas in:
1) Portable gaming. Got a NOAC (Nintendo on a Chip) laying around with some wireless controllers. Headmount it in a Mario cap, maybe spice it up with a solar panel, you never know.
A buddy of mine suggested using it for the PSP slim, to each his own. I could see an application for it, especially if you were needing to stealth it behind some glasses and add an earbud. Talk about the ultimate way to sneak some game time in. Resolution wouldn’t work very well, but beggars can’t be choosers.
2) Portable computing. I’ve got an old H2 Hummer game that I’ve already gutted and it’s ready for S-Video, so think about a portable C64 HUD…awesome!
Ok, maybe I’m just too big of a nerd.
3) Videography. Ok, most pros are used to monocrome, most even prefer it in the viewfinder so they can better judge focus. Either way, this would make an awesome viewfinder for a portable crane or jib rig, especially when shooting outdoors. For one, the cheaper LCDs they sell you normally wash out in sunlight, and the hood doesn’t always do the job well enough.
The HUD would provide the isolation needed and allow the person to concentrate on their focus and framing, while still let them be aware of their surroundings, which is very important in event videography where you might be navigating through people, objects, etc.
Sooo, who won? :-D
Won’t know until after 5 today.
Winners? It is way past 5pm. :( I guess that means I didn’t win. And here I thought my idea for a wireless camera mounted on a remote control car was awesome!
Yeah, it’s about 30 min. after 5 for their local time, so I just figured they’ll let everybody know tomorrow so it hits the blogwire at a better time.
My sarcasm filter must be broke. I almost thought you were serious, seeing as this part comes from exactly where you stated. :)
No, I wasn’t serious. But I am still waiting to hear the winners!
Hi Everyone!
Thanks for all the great submissions! We received hundreds of submissions in about 30 hours time. It was difficult to narrow it down to just ten winners.
The winning projects include using the headset for; tilt shift photography, making a miniature Drive-In theater, independent film making, DJ’ing, Rescue workers tools, creating a virtual world, making a nickelodeon, a borescope and an invisible house.
Winners have been notified by e-mail. Thanks to everyone who sent in all of their great ideas, we encourage you to post your ideas on this MAKE thread or Jake’s site!
As noted, our website is out of stock on the Headset, but we do have the Spy Video Car in stock (includes this headset). Not only is this a cool toy, but when you are done with it you can use the Camera, Display, Wireless Video Transmitter and Receiver pair for your own cool projects! Spy Video Car
Wild Planet Engineering Team
:( My idea is in the list there ^^ but I didn’t get an e-mail. Does that mean somebody else had the same idea and won instead of me?
i take it my DIY nigh vision goggles wasnt good enough. o well