Developer turns Sony's headphones into real-time head tracker for PC simulators

Most modern, high-end headphones and earbuds have accelerometers and gyroscopes used for the spatial audio feature that requires precise tracking of head movements in order to make the sound immersive. Sony's WF-1000 and WH-1000 lineups also have the needed hardware, and someone came up with the idea of utilizing those sensors for in-game controls.

Developer Nicholas Slattery started a project called Sony Head Tracker, and it's already compatible with hundreds of PC games, including Microsoft Flight Simulator and Assetto Corsa.

I made Sony headphones work as a free head tracker for 200+ PC games
by u/NSlattery43 in pcmasterrace

Sony headphones already have the Android Head Tracker protocol baked into the firmware, but it's completely ignored by Windows. So, Slattery's Sony Head Tracker app acts as a bridge between the hardware and the OpenTrack software, which in turn supports over 200 PC games, and it's designed to work with phones, webcams and eye or IR trackers.

Sony's WH/WF-1000XM6, WH/WF-1000XM5, and ULT WEAR (WH-ULT900N) are currently supported as they are the only ones supporting spatial audio. Apple's headphones and earbuds, however, use a proprietary protocol, so they won't work with Windows.

If you own a pair and you enjoy PC simulator games, this is a very cost-effective way to make your experience a tad more immersive. Judging by the demo video, the head tracking is at a VR headset level.

Source