A very precise head tracker with absolute head rotation tracking capabilities. It is based on the excellent BNO055 accelerometer/gyroscope/magnetometer chip.

Cost

Between 30 and 50€, depending mostly on which version of the BNO055 you find.

Building difficulty

Very low. Requires:

• Not mandatory but recommended: soldering

Components

I’ve included links to sample components to take a look at them, but you can find them elsewhere on other shops, sometimes even at better prices.

• Arduino microcontroller (Uno, Nano, whatever. Elegoo makes cheaper compatible chips). You can find them on Amazon;
• USB Type A to Type B cable (to connect Arduino to your PC. Often included with Arduino);
• BNO055 accelerometer/gyroscope chip, such as those produced by DFRobot. Check also Adafruit and BlueDot;
• At least 4 male to female (or female to female if you choose Ardino Nano) jumper wires for microelectronics, to connect Arduino to the sensor. I recommend to buy a set of wires. You can find them on Amazon;
• (Optional but strongly recommended) a soldering iron, to connect the BNO055’s pins. Alternatively you can… use tape, sometimes I did it and worked :);
• Something head-wearable where to put Arduino and the BNO055 chip (a headphone set or a hairband);
• Strong insulating tape.

Procedure

1. If you have the expertise and the tools to solder the pins of the BNO055 do it. Otherwise, try to… Ehrm… “Solder” it using insulating tape;
2. Connect the BNO055 to the Arduino using the jumper wires following the scheme in the image above. The model of your BNO055 chip isn’t probably relevant, as far as you follow the scheme for port names:
   • VCC → 5V
   • GND → GND
   • SDA → A4
   • SCL → A5
3. Put and fix the Arduino and the BNO055 to the hairband/headphones, to keep them still. See the image on the right as an example.