question about screens

the cost is not that important because if i need to buy something expensive i will just halt the work for a week or two and get the money to buy it

i will give you more info the mask itself is from the game Watch Dogs 2 from the character Wrench i wanted to make his mask.
i wanted to 3D print a mask that looks like his put some dark coated grid like glass as the main layer on it put 16x16 neopixel grid for the emoticons and on the neopixel behind put some video glass screen i dont know which exactly it depends on comfort and on the forehead of the mask put a camera a small one (phone like camera maybe a little bigger) and thats it for now if there is room or not im not really sure im still waiting for the mask to be delivered i just want to gather all the details and materials since i have no idea where to buy the video glasses lcd's without buying the product and taking it apart

there still alot to implement like some stealthy way to use the emoticons (maybe some kind of voice recognition) i have almost everything ready the voice changer the neopixel grid im just waiting for the mask if something and it doesnt fit ill just have to change the design of the mask a litle untill its perfect if you are wondering what i want to make then here is an avatar from the game

Hi all,

I hate to interrupt this thread, but in view of your comments, which have been an education for me, I have updated post #6 on 'Location'

spec

Krauth said:

the cost is not that important because if i need to buy something expensive i will just halt the work for a week or two and get the money to buy it.

Click to expand...

Never say that on ETO.

Krauth said:

i will give you more info the mask itself is from the game Watch Dogs 2 from the character Wrench i wanted to make his mask.
i wanted to 3D print a mask that looks like his put some dark coated grid like glass as the main layer on it put 16x16 neopixel grid for the emoticons and on the neopixel behind put some video glass screen i dont know which exactly it depends on comfort and on the forehead of the mask put a camera a small one (phone like camera maybe a little bigger) and thats it for now if there is room or not im not really sure im still waiting for the mask to be delivered i just want to gather all the details and materials since i have no idea where to buy the video glasses lcd's without buying the product and taking it apart

Click to expand...

OK that information explains a lot.
Your system now breaks down in to two high level sub systems:
(1) Emicon display
(2) Human vision

As the Emicon display is a new requirement here is a few points about the emicon display.

Is the emicon diplay to be used in bright light or just in darkness.

If the former is the case the only option I can think of is a LED array to get the brightness. I do not think an LCD would be bright enough.

You say that you want a 16 by 16 matrix for each emicon display. Do you want color or would black and another color; red, orange, yellow, violet, blue, green, be sufficient? Going for black and another single color would greatly simplify the design. By the way, you could use different color LEDs for different pixels, but one particular pixel would always be the same color (when turned on).

This requires 256 individula LEDs or the use of an off-the -shelf LED array, which I have not investigated yet at this point.

Another approach for the emicon displays may be electroluminescent but i am not sure that would be bright enough to see in bright light.

spec

watchdogs rocks`! I highly recommend playing it!

Check this out:
https://www.notey.com/@hackaday_uno...atrix-shades-you-can-actually-see-though.html

Is the emicon diplay to be used in bright light or just in darkness.
You say that you want a 16 by 16 matrix for each emicon display. Do you want color?

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it will be white or gray maybe maybe light blue it depends what will be better seen in light because yes it will be used in both light and darkness i want to do this project as a halloween costume and get more into masks to know what resources i got available and what i can make with them in the future my problem now are the video glasses and the camera ive searched all over google and all i could find are articles and not actual buyable parts i can always buy video glasses and take them apart but im a guy that goes till the end and if the end is that cruel that i cant find anything i will do that

Krauth said:

it will be white or gray maybe maybe light blue it depends what will be better seen in light because yes it will be used in both light and darkness i want to do this project as a halloween costume and get more into masks to know what resources i got available and what i can make with them in the future my problem now are the video glasses and the camera ive searched all over google and all i could find are articles and not actual buyable parts i can always buy video glasses and take them apart but im a guy that goes till the end and if the end is that cruel that i cant find anything i will do that

Click to expand...

OK, just black and a color- that is good because you will be able to use a LED array, which can be as bright as you like, within reason. From a techical point of view white is the most difficult but intense blue would be OK.

The peak of human visual acuity is yellow/green (the color perceived to be the brightest), but the most efficient LEDs are red. Are you able at this time to say what colour LED display you would like?

I would not worry about actual parts for the moment. The first thing to do is to get an exact definition of what you want and do a functional block diagram.

Once that is hammered out we can do the detailed design, which as far as I can tell will involve standard modules- I'm pretty sure that cameras etc are available.

spec

hi Krauth,
I would look for a small mobile phone, like a Mini Xperia, with a video cam feature.
The mobile would fit easily between your eyes and the back of the mask, the cam lens is about 4mm in dia.

If you have a regular mobile phone with the vid cam option, try it out with a sheet of cardboard with a 5mm dia hole for the lens, check if it is viable.

E

Hi K,
Have you considered a vehicle reversing camera?
If the mask is big enough you could have a mirror in front of you eyes aiming up or down to the screen, for the focus. (Surface coated is best)
Camerart.

A functional block diagram for the Wrench mask is posted below.

spec

spec said:

Are you able at this time to say what colour LED display you would like?

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yes i can it will be red

ericgibbs said:

I would look for a small mobile phone, like a Mini Xperia, with a video cam feature.

Click to expand...

a phone has been suggested but isnt being that close to a phone screen can damage your eyes too?

spec said:

A functional block diagram for the Wrench mask is posted below.

spec

View attachment 102513​

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looks awesome what bothers me the most with this mask is how can i change emoticons (facial expressions) stealthy i can always hook it to something like a phone or something else but it kinda ruins the fun because its noticable

Krauth said:

yes i can it will be red

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That is a good choice from a technical point of view.

Krauth said:

a phone has been suggested but isn't being that close to a phone screen can damage your eyes too?

Click to expand...

This is a very important point. The safety of eyes can never be compromised under any circumstances. This applies to mobile phone displays, individual display screens, and the screens of video glasses. The two eye screens on the block diagram, of post #29, can represent the screens of standard, off-the-shelf, video glasses. By the way, at the moment, I think that off-the-shelf video glasses are the way to go.

Krauth said:

what bothers me the most with this mask is how can i change emoticons (facial expressions) stealthy i can always hook it to something like a phone or something else but it kinda ruins the fun because its noticable

Click to expand...

This aspect of the mask is nothing to worry about. The box maked MMI (Man Machine Interface) represents all the manual controls for the mask: emicon selection, emicon brightness, emicon on off, eye display brightness ... and so on. The actual controls will be up to you- literally any form of manual control can be provided.

My initial thought on the MMI is a small push button pad that fits in the palm of your hand with a single wire routed up your arm to the mask. From the palm pad you will be able to control all mask functions. These are just my initial thoughts about the MMI though.

spec

spec said:

My initial thought on the MMI is a small push button pad that fits in the palm of your hand with a single wire routed up your arm to the mask. From the palm pad you will be able to control all mask functions. These are just my initial thoughts about the MMI though.

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i thought about that too but my thought was around bluetooth so there wont be wires where they are not needed hehe but the wire can be done too i can make it into a stickable tattoo and hide the wire under it

Krauth said:

i thought about that too but my thought was around bluetooth so there wont be wires where they are not needed hehe but the wire can be done too i can make it into a stickable tattoo and hide the wire under it

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I suggest going for a wire- it can be thin and flesh colored- to start with to keep things simple. A wireless link can always be added later, if absolutely necessary.

I imagined that you would be wearing a long-sleeved shirt or jacket which would hide the wire, but from what you say your arms will be bare.

A stickable tattoo, sounds good, on both arms though, so it is not obvious that the tattoo is camouflage.

Don't forger to post some pictures of your mask when it is completed.

spec

i wont google just called me and they said that my mask is on the way ( how nice is that you can use google as a 3D printer service in israel) haha the question is the video glasses where am i supposed to get them and the camera? i searched thru some websites that this forum suggested but or im bad at searching or they dont have it haha im almost done with the leds and the voice changer

Krauth said:

im almost done with the leds and the voice changer

Click to expand...

What does this mean?

spec

I like this one so far:
https://www.tomtop.com/smart-video-...&aid=gplaca3&gclid=CPipysnMy9ACFUVMDQodnNgNIw

another problem we need to watch for is compatibility... alot of glasses run its own software which means no vga/rca ports .... so we are limited to the way the device is programmed in the way of how playback & recording work.... which means all the glasses will be able to do is a video pass through and giving it things like a HUD will be out of the question.... ... which also means a separate controller will be required if you want to run leds or anything else...

Dr_Doggy said:

which also means a separate controller will be required if you want to run leds or anything else...

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I think a single Raspberry Pi will control the whole mask.

spec

It could,
but again watch out for the glasses that are being purchased(i think the ones in your example spec are ok), the ones i recently purchased can only upload media via usb for playback, or copying saved images to pc , just like a mp3 player(ie, no live streams), but when it comes to using it like a monitor all bets are off without "vga" or "hdmi" bus

Dr_Doggy said:

It could,
but again watch out for the glasses that are being purchased(i think the ones in your example spec are ok), the ones i recently purchased can only upload media via usb for playback, or copying saved images to pc , just like a mp3 player(ie, no live streams), but when it comes to using it like a monitor all bets are off without "vga" or "hdmi" bus

Click to expand...

Thanks, DD,

Hopefully we can have a direct video link from the camera, to the audio visual glasses (AVGs): VGA, HDMI, etc, so that the mask processor will not be loaded with the video signals. Instead the mask processor will just control the camera focus, the Emicons, and other functions as necessary

As you say, the(AVGs) will need to be carefully selected. Until the OP started this thread, I knew nothing about AVGs, apart from their existence, but as AVGs are an interesting/useful item, I am investigating AVGs further.

I went shopping at Bristol UK today, and while the missus wasn't looking, I snuck int0 Currys (UK computer store) to have a look at AVGs, but they only had a frame that can mount a standard mobile phone, that with an application, make a pair of AVGs- this is one approach for the mask, but not the best I don't think.

Currys have a large out-of-town store so, hopefully this week, I will try out some proper AVGs.

But from what I have learned so far about AVRs, they seem to be suitable for the mask.

spec