u/NSlattery43

I wrote a free open-source Windows tool that turns compatible Sony headphones and earbuds into a head tracker for OpenTrack.

https://github.com/NicholasSlattery/sony-head-tracker

Sony built motion sensors into some of these headphones for spatial audio, but Windows doesn't normally use that data in a useful way. My app reads the head tracking sensor over the normal Bluetooth connection and sends yaw, pitch, and roll into OpenTrack.

I’ve tested it in Microsoft Flight Simulator, Elite Dangerous, and Assetto Corsa. Since it outputs through OpenTrack, it should work with 200+ PC games that support TrackIR, FreeTrack, or OpenTrack input.

A few additional games that have support are DCS World, Falcon BMS, Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen, iRacing, Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator, and more.

Confirmed working headphones so far:

Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony WH-1000XM6
Sony WF-1000XM6
Sony ULT WEAR / WH-ULT900N

The WF-1000XM5 and some LinkBuds models may also work, but I have not tested them yet.

Sadly, the WH-1000XM4 will not work because it doesn't have the sensors needed for gyro.

I'm happy to answer any questions about it.

I wrote a free open source Windows tool that turns compatible Sony headphones and earbuds into a head tracker for OpenTrack.

https://github.com/NicholasSlattery/sony-head-tracker

Sony built motion sensors into some of these headphones for spatial audio, but Windows does not normally expose that data in a useful way for PC sims. My app reads the head tracking sensor over the normal Bluetooth connection and sends yaw, pitch, and roll into OpenTrack.

Confirmed working so far:

Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony WH-1000XM6
Sony WF-1000XM6
Sony ULT WEAR / WH-ULT900N

I wrote a free open-source Windows tool that turns compatible Sony headphones and earbuds into a head tracker for OpenTrack.

Sony built motion sensors into some of these headphones for spatial audio, but Windows does not normally expose that data in a useful way for PC sims. My app reads the head-tracking sensor over the normal Bluetooth connection and sends yaw, pitch, and roll into OpenTrack.

I only own Microsoft Flight Simulator, but since this outputs through OpenTrack, it should be compatible with DCS: World, Falcon BMS, and a ton of other sims/games that already support OpenTrack/TrackIR-style input.

Confirmed working headphones so far:

Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony WH-1000XM6
Sony WF-1000XM6
Sony ULT WEAR / WH-ULT900N

GitHub/source/download:
https://github.com/NicholasSlattery/sony-head-tracker (v2.0 just released)

The Sony WF-1000XM5 or LinkBuds models should also work, but I haven't been able to test them.

I wrote a free open-source Windows tool that turns compatible Sony headphones and earbuds into a head tracker for OpenTrack.

Sony built motion sensors into some of these headphones for spatial audio, but Windows does not normally expose them in a useful way for games. My app reads the head-tracking sensor from the normal Bluetooth connection and sends yaw, pitch, and roll into OpenTrack.

Confirmed working so far:

Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony WH-1000XM6
Sony WF-1000XM6
Sony ULT WEAR / WH-ULT900N

The Sony WF-1000XM5 or LinkBuds models should also work, but I haven't been able to test them.

I finally recorded a flight sim demo, so I am sharing it here because this is one of the best use cases for it. No webcam or firmware modification needed.

GitHub/source/download:
https://github.com/NicholasSlattery/sony-head-tracker (v2.0 just released)

The Sony WH-1000XM5 has a motion sensor inside that Sony only uses for spatial audio on phones. Windows doesn't normally read it, so I wrote a free open-source tool that does.

It grabs the head-tracking data over your normal Bluetooth pairing and sends yaw/pitch/roll to OpenTrack. I used OpenTrack to feed it into Assetto Corsa.

Source and download: https://github.com/NicholasSlattery/xm5-head-tracker

Happy to answer any questions about it.

Edit:
Community testing has now confirmed the WH-1000XM6, WF-1000XM6, and ULT WEAR in addition to the original WH-1000XM5. I’m currently looking for owners of the WF-1000XM5 and LinkBuds models