How to Setup the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition for Vizard and SightLab VR Pro

The HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition paired with WorldViz’s SightLab VR Pro and VizBox is a powerful tool for capturing biometric data in real time while running custom VR eye tracking experiments. This VR headset allows you to collect eye tracking (including gaze position, pupil diameter and eye openness), as well as heart rate, cognitive load and (with a future update) facial tracking as well. 
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Here are the steps you will need to perform to get started:

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• First download and install the HP Omnicept software from this link:
  ‍https://developers.hp.com/omnicept/downloads?language=pt 
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• Plug HDMI and USB cable for the HMD into your computer. Note that the Omnicept comes with a USB-C cable, but has an included USB-C to USB-3.0 adapter. If it doesn’t get recognized, try plugging the USB into a different port (requires 3.0). Lastly, plug in the power cable.
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• Once recognized, a window will pop up guiding you through the rest of the setup process (sometimes takes about a few minutes). If it doesn’t come up, then search “Mixed Reality Portal” in the Windows search bar and start the app. 
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• You will have to run the setup for any new location you are in. To do this, click on the button in the top left to expand the settings and then click on “Run Setup” .
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• Hold the headset in front of the computer and press “Center”.

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• Next, trace out your space by pressing “Trace and then walking around with the VR headset to map out your walking area.

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• Press Win+Y to get back control of your desktop.
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• To turn on the controllers, press and hold the windows button for 2 seconds.

• If the controllers have not yet been paired, on the side menu in the Windows Mixed Reality portal, click “See more” and then select “Set up controllers”.

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• In the settings screen you now see, click “Add Bluetooth or other device”.
  

• Open the battery door on your controllers.

• Press the small button below the batteries for 2 seconds until the lights flash.
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• When the controllers appear, click “Connect” 

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• If this is the first time you are running the Omnicept you will also need to run the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition Setup tool. This is where you will have to agree to the EULA to enable the sensors.

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• If you do not yet have SteamVR configured do the following: 
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• Download the Steam application and then the “SteamVR” tool. You will need to make a Steam account to login. https://store.steampowered.com/about/ Once Steam is installed search for SteamVR and install it 
• Next download and start the Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR App

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• For each new user you will need to perform a calibration for the eye tracking to have the best accuracy. Search and run the HP Omnicept Eye Tracking Calibration Tool and follow the instructions. Make sure the head is positioned correctly.

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• For running with Vizard you can download and use this preset. 

• If using the HP Omnicept with SightLab VR Pro (WorldViz’s plugin for creating eye tracking experiments), just select the “HP Omnicept” selection from the dropdown list
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• The left thumbstick will allow you to move through the scene, while clicking down on the right thumbstick will let you use the arc teleport method. The left and right grip buttons will do a snap rotation, and by default the two triggers will allow you to grab and interact. 
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• Note that the “Windows” Button will bring you to the Mixed Reality home and pressing down the thumbstick will toggle the Steam Menu. 
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• You can also select the Vive Preset in VizConnect and then swap out the controllers being used for the input with the “HP Reverb” controllers and remap the buttons. 
  
  To see how to add sensor data such as heart rate to SightLab see this page

• You can also run a quick test of the headset by opening up Vizard and going to File-Quick Open and typing in Omnicept to run an example script.

• For testing heart rate, you can run this sample code
  
  # Connect to Omnicept eye trackeromnicept = viz.add('omnicept.dle')
  
  eyeTracker = omnicept.addOmnicept()
  
  def printHeartRate():  
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          heartRate = eyeTracker.getHeartRate()
           print(heartRate)
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  vizact.onupdate(0,printHeartRate)
  
  

• For more information on the methods available with the HP Omnicept (including how to access the heart rate and cognitive load data) see the page on the Omnicept in the Vizard documentation here.
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• Note that cognitive load requires an additional subscription through HP, but you can access a 30 day trial to try it out if you register through their developer’s portal. https://omnicept-console.hpbp.io/login

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If the controllers aren’t responding:

• Make sure the lights are bright on the controllers, dim means they are not tracking
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• Make sure the batteries are charged
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• Hold the controllers briefly in front of your line of sight to regain tracking
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• The controllers should stay paired, but if for some reason they lose pairing, you may need to re-pair them

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If you lose tracking: 

Most of the time you just need to look left, then right, then down at the floor and it should find your space again. Sometimes you have to stand in a certain spot to get it to work. 

Usually closing The Windows Mixed Reality for Steam VR app, and the Mixed Reality Portal and restarting them fixes this. If not, you may need to re-run the setup. 

For more information on how you can easily setup eye tracking experiments with little or no code using SightLab VR Pro and the Omnicept, including with multiple users, how you can use the VizBox to have a portable VR eye tracking research system, or for any of WorldViz’s products, contact sales@worldviz.com.