In Virtual Reality News
November 28, 2023 – HTC VIVE, a provider of XR headsets and hardware, has today announced the new VIVE Ultimate Tracker, designed to enhance tracking across gaming, sports training, motion capture, and industrial use cases.
Following the company’s VIVE Tracker 3.0, the VIVE Ultimate Tracker was developed to give XR users more versatility and functionality. The device uses two wide-field of view (FOV) cameras to track its own location in 3D spaces with precise accuracy.
Featuring new technology, the VIVE Ultimate Tracker does not require external tracking solutions like base stations, and is essentially “self-tracking” according to HTC VIVE. The VIVE Ultimate Tracker is compatible with HTC VIVE’s standalone headsets, such as the VIVE XR Elite and VIVE Focus 3, and users can connect up to five trackers per headset for multi-point full-body tracking.
HTC VIVE stated that the new tracker also supports PC VR streaming, is compatible with VIVE Tracker supported PC content, and will soon support OpenXR and SteamVR-based PC VR setups.
“VIVE Ultimate Tracker is about to make your XR sessions a lot more realistic and immersive, with super accurate full-body tracking – now for the first time on all-in-one devices,” said Shen Ye, Global Head of Product at HTC VIVE.
In addition to the launch of the VIVE Ultimate Tracker, the company also announced that its VIVE XR Elite headset will soon feature a native VRChat app with full body tracking support for VIVE Ultimate Tracker, marking the first instance of standalone full body tracking on an XR device, according to HTC VIVE. The app is set to launch on VIVEPORT in December.
Commenting on the launch, Jesse Joudrey, CTO, VRChat, said: “The VIVE Ultimate Tracker is a fantastic solution for those seeking an extremely flexible and standalone layer of full-body tracking in social VR. With the Ultimate Tracker, HTC VIVE has developed a way to bring a new immersive world to so many people.”
The tracker, adaptable with a standard 1/4″-20 UNC mount and a pogo pin interface, facilitates various use cases, including motion capture and VR training. VIVE is also releasing developer documentation and a 3D CAD file to encourage custom mount designs.
HTC VIVE noted that it has an “ambitious roadmap” for VIVE Ultimate Tracker, with the company stating that In the future the device will work entirely independently with SteamVR, without any headset present, meaning it can be used to track the movement of people or objects. This will make it especially powerful for industrial use cases, where there’s a need to track a wide range of equipment and props. Support for direct connection to SteamVR will be available as a beta in the coming weeks.
Technical specifications of the VIVE Ultimate Tracker include:
- Weight: 94g
- Battery life: Up to 7 hours
- Connectivity: Proprietary low-latency 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, with up to 10 meters operating distance
- Tracking: 6DoF inside-out tracking.
The VIVE Ultimate Tracker is available for purchase in North America, the UK and Europe for USD $199 / GBP £209 / EUR €229 per unit respectively. Various bundle deals are also being offered by the company through December 31, 2023. Additional pricing and package details can be found on the HTC VIVE website.
Image credit: HTC VIVE
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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.