April 30, 2020 – HTC Vive has today announced that Vive Sync, the company’s remote collaboration and meeting application, is now available in free beta for businesses and remote employees. Built specifically for business use to improve communication and productivity, Vive Sync is a secure VR collaboration tool allowing internal and external teams to meet in a virtual space.
“Unlike any other tool or medium, VR has the ability to connect and engage remote teams and employees as if they were together in the same physical room,” said David Sapienza, AVP Content Development & Production, HTC Vive. “Vive Sync enables colleagues and partners across the world to interact in a shared virtual space, increasing productivity, collaboration and team chemistry. The future of work is rapidly becoming more global and more remote and VR is the solution needed to succeed in this new reality.”
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, remote work is quickly becoming part of the new normal, and it could be fair to assume that many companies will be looking at remote working solutions for employees even after the global pandemic has passed. With Vive Sync, teams can continue to engage in face-to-face meetings between managers and coworkers that help to increase engagement, collaboration and productivity, as well as combat remote worker loneliness according to HTC Vive.
“We believe applications like Vive Sync will increase collaboration and productivity among dispersed teams working from home in VR,” said David Weinstein, Director of XR at NVIDIA. “Meeting face-to-face in VR with Vive Sync optimized by NVIDIA VRS and Vive Pro Eye provides a sense of presence and connection for global remote employees.”
Vive Sync supports up to 30 attendees simultaneously, and enables users to hold internal meetings, online classroom discussions, virtual press conferences or even remote sales presentations. Integrated with OneDrive, participants can share materials directly from their server such as video files, PowerPoint presentations, and 2D & 3D assets. Information can also be shared outside Sync as by taking screenshots or via voice-to-text note taking.
Using the Sync Avatar Creator mobile application, available on the App Store and Google Play, participants can create personalized avatars built in their likeness to serve as their digital representation. With full body tracking, participant’s avatars communicate their actual body language. Vive Sync also supports Tobii eye tracking to allow for more natural interactions with virtual colleagues or clients by capturing participants’ eye movements.
During the free open beta period, enterprises will have access to all features currently available in Vive Sync, including the following:
- OneDrive Support – Offers secure upload and sharing of internal files in and out of the application. PowerPoint, PDFs, videos, and images can be shared on the meeting room’s big screen;
- 3D Model Review – Allows for the upload and scaling of 3D models for collaborative review;
- Custom Avatar Design – Increases immersion with personalized avatars created in the user’s likeness;
- Personal Notes – Speech-to-text notes and screenshots ensure important information will be retained once out of VR;
- 3D Drawing – Annotate models and files or hold impromptu whiteboard sessions;
- Conference Tables and Auditorium Seating – Users can be situated around a virtual conference table or in auditorium seating depending on the number of participants;
- Vive Ecosystem Support – Vive Sync is compatible with all Vive devices including standalone and PC VR headsets.
HTC Vive states that Vive Sync will continue to have more features and services added, and that future upgrades include:
- Expanded Hardware Compatibility – Support for the larger VR ecosystem including Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality and Valve Index devices;
- Meeting Controls – Grants control over large meetings with features such as muting participants or locking certain features;
- Record Sessions – Record entire meetings to share with participants who couldn’t attend;
- Non-VR PC Participation – Allow participants without a VR headset to join the meeting via a PC viewer.
Vive Sync currently supports all Vive headsets and is available to download here.
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.