HTC seems to push hard into grabbing the market before the rest can. With a slew of new products launching and tweaks in its current VR lineup, HTC is stepping up. Now in CES 2017, HTC announced their new Vive Tracker, a new addition to their VR products lineup. Vive Tracker can track any real object into your virtual world.
About the much speculated Vive Tracker
The rumors floated from the time HTC released its Vive headset, and it finally came true. Trackers are very useful for virtual-real world integration. Moreover, there are multitude of ways in which real world objects can be merged with virtual world. Seeing this standalone ‘puck-like’ tracker coming to reality is all what HTC needed in its Vive line of products.
The technology used in Vive tracker is no different from SteamVR tracking technology. HTC said it promises to give the same level of accuracy as SteamVR tracking system. The tracker itself has integrated battery, a microUSB port and a camera-type mounting screw. It can also be connected wirelessly to your computer. The microUSB port ensures that third party apps can relay information to the tracking device. This won’t require a separate connection to the computer itself. The VIve Tracker consists of 20 tracking points, which is expected to make it more usable as well as compact.
At CES 2017, HTC demonstrated how the VIve tracker could be integrated in various devices. Third-party everyday products such as bats, guns and even a firehose simulator was used as the objects. And these accessories worked with the Vive Tracker like a dream. The price hasn’t been announced yet. But it seems just like the Vive controllers it will be priced around $130 mark. The release date has been announced in around Q2 2017. It is definitely going to be an exciting launch for all the Vive fans out there!
