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relativ-build-your-own-vr-headset-for-100-5cf52b.md

We couldn't afford an Oculus so we built one

Why Relativ? 📖

My name is Maxime Coutté. I’m 16 years old and I live in a small village in France where I’m the only teenager. With my best friends, Jonas Ceccon and Gabriel Combe, and my math teacher Jerome Dieudonne (we call him Sensei) we built our own VR headset for $100.

I started programming when I was 13, thanks to Sensei when he created a robotics club. On the first day we were 12 students, the next week we were 3 - yep, you guessed it, the other two were Gabriel and Jonas. I fell in love with VR because of an anime called SAO, but the problem was that the Oculus Rift was way too expensive for me. I talked about this with Gabriel and we both agreed that we should build our own VR headset. That got us into the math and physics behind VR (quaternions, proper acceleration, antiderivatives…). Then we bought the cheapest components we could and we reinvented VR. Now using FastVR and Relativ you can build your VR headset too.

Open-source it FTW

Thanks to this project I’ve had the incredible fortune to meet amazing people, including the chief architect at Oculus, Atman Brinstock. He gave me a precious piece of advice: "open source it". I deleted all the code I had, and started rewriting it all from scratch, better. And I convinced my two friends and our math teacher to put the project into open source.

Getting started ⚡️

Relativ is based on WRMHL and FastVR.

What you'll need

First you will need the following components:

  • Arduino Due, $34 for the official one or $10 for a Chinese clone
  • GY-521 MPU-6050, $1
  • 5.5 inch 2560*1440 2K LCD Screen HDMI to MIPI, up to 100€ on Alie Express (recommended) ⚠️ Price may vary a lot
  • Fresnel lens Focal Length 50mm, $3 (recommended)

How to Install?

Have a look at the Github: https://github.com/relativty/Relativ

You can either install it using Git or direct Download. Or from the command line:

Building the software

Make sure you have all the libraries needed installed and upload the following program to the Arduino:

Path: Relativ/src/main/main.ino

You can now play with your headset by downloading some cool demos by clicking here. Or build your own game in a minute using the Relativty sdk, learn more by clicking here.

I would love to hear about what you’ve experienced building the headset or help if you have any questions. Ping me at maxime@relativty.com or @maximecoutte.

<> with ❤️, maxime@relativty.com

🛠️ เจาะลึกเบื้องหลังการทำงาน (Deep Dive / Technical Analysis)

The Relativ VR is an iconic open-source project that proved commercial virtual reality hardware could be reverse-engineered by makers. It replaces expensive Oculus systems with standard STM32 processors, incredible math, and a repurposed smartphone screen.

The Head-Tracking Engine (MPU-6050)

A VR headset must know exactly where you are looking in milliseconds. If it lags, the user gets motion sickness.

  1. An MPU-6050 6-Axis IMU is mounted directly over the bridge of the nose on the 3D-printed headset.
  2. The code uses complex "Sensor Fusion" and quaternions (e.g., the Madgwick filter) to calculate absolute orientation in 3D space, combining the Gyroscope and Accelerometer data to prevent "drift."
  3. It blasts this coordinate data over USB to a high-end PC playing a SteamVR game!

Interfacing the 2K LCD

  • You purchase a massive 5.5-inch 2K LCD screen (often a replacement part for a Chinese smartphone).
  • These screens use the highly complex MIPI DSI connection standard. The Arduino ecosystem cannot drive this.
  • You must use a specialized HDMI-to-MIPI conversion board. You plug an HDMI cable directly from your gaming PC's graphics card into the circuit board resting on your forehead!
  • The PC renders the two stereoscopic images (Left Eye, Right Eye), sending them to the screen, while the STM32 board handles the tracking.

Essential Components

  • An STM32 (Blue Pill) or Arduino Due for rapid, high-speed math.
  • MPU-6050 or BNO080 IMU (The BNO080 has built-in sensor fusion logic, drastically improving stability).
  • A 5.5-inch 2560x1440 Fast-Switch LCD and HDMI converter board.
  • Fresnel Lenses (Magnifying geometry).
  • A 3D Printer to build the custom face-gasket enclosure.

ข้อมูล Frontmatter ดั้งเดิม 

title: "Relativ - Build Your Own VR Headset for $100"
description: "An open source VR headset that you can build yourself for $100."
author: "Maxime-coutte"
category: "Screens & Displays"
tags:
  - "video games"
  - "diy"
  - "vr"
views: 69836
likes: 76
price: 1499
difficulty: "Intermediate"
components:
  - "1x Arduino Due"
  - "1x 3D Printer (generic)"
  - "1x SparkFun Triple Axis Accelerometer and Gyro Breakout - MPU-6050"
tools: []
apps:
  - "1x Unity"
  - "1x Arduino IDE"
downloadableFiles:
  - "https://github.com/relativty/Relativ"
documentationLinks: []
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seoDescription: "Build your own Open Source VR Headset for just $100 with the Relativ project. An affordable DIY guide for makers."
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