Play Doom on This Raspberry Pi-Powered VR Rig

We’ve seen all kinds of Raspberry Pi portable consoles, but this one takes an entirely new take on things. Instead of stuffing a Pi Zero and monitor into a unique handheld enclosure, Clemens Mayer’s build is strapped to your belt and sends game data to an FPV headset via a 5.8GHz transmitter.

This setup places you into a virtual world employing a head-mounted MPU-6050 IMU unit, along with a custom control pad. It’s designed to play Doom in a very immersive fashion, though other games would certainly be a possibility.

As outlined in the video below, the project wasn’t without its challenges. Mayer initially wanted to use the IMU directly with the Raspberry Pi, but found that he needed an Arduino to interface with it, acting as an HID device. There was also an issue with the transmitter, which had to be replaced by another that he scavenged from his quadcopter. Along the way he created a nice 3D-printed case for the belt-mounted unit, as well as one for the head-tracking rig.

You can see him trying to play in his garage just before 15:00, with hilarious and “headache-inducing” results! If you’d like to construct something similar, a parts list is available on element14, though the referenced contest is closed.