October 07, 2024
When the HTC Vive Virtual Reality System Tracker was first announced, many were skeptical of what it would be able to accomplish. It’s just a tracking device, they said, and Virtual reality can’t be that life-changing. Well, the day has come when we can finally put all doubts aside and see the Vive Tracker in action. Here are five ways this tiny device can change your life for the better. (And if you need help writing the content itself, look here.)
The tracker is versatile
The top of your real-world feet becomes your feet in VR. So, if you’re into rocketing off an actual cliff or running down a virtual street barefoot, there are no worries about what to do with your feet—you can actually walk around in VR just as you would in real life. If you’re afraid of heights (or certain types of games) on other VR platforms, forget about it with Vive. The headset's front-facing camera also has one more trick up its sleeve: hand tracking. You can use gestures to activate objects by reaching out and grabbing them instead of using a controller—think Temple Run meets Oculus Rift.
The tracker can track anything
The tracker in your VIVE can track anything you want it to, including your hands and feet. With such a wide range of motion tracking, you’ll be able to do more than just play games. You can use different apps in conjunction with your tracker to engage in workouts and exercises that will help improve your performance during physical activities like running or climbing. This is an especially exciting prospect for individuals who are looking for alternative forms of therapy while still experiencing many of the benefits of VR immersion. But whether you’re engaging in exercise-based activities or not, there are plenty of ways that having one less cord around (or even on) you can change your life. We’ve listed out five below
The tracker can help you train for sports
Using a tool like Game Trainer, you can record your movement in real-time and use it to retrain yourself and improve muscle memory for actions that take place outside of virtual reality. This can have huge ramifications for athletes who have suffered injuries or simply want to sharpen their performance. Rather than pay thousands of dollars on physical therapy and extensive practice, players are able to get more out of every training session because they’re having more fun while playing. And with major sporting events like professional football playoffs as well as winter Olympics taking place in VR, sports fans will be able to watch games from their couch just like old times—only now they’ll be seeing a whole new perspective.
The tracker can help you learn hand-eye coordination
The core technology behind the HTC Vive tracker is what’s known as 6DoF, or six degrees of freedom. Basically, that means it can track any object and its position in 3D space with sub-millimeter precision at a rate of 1000 samples per second. What does that mean for you? It means that using your tracker on objects other than VR controllers and accessories is possible, but not necessary. Want to do something totally crazy like put one on your cat? Go for it! All you need to know is where each component is (head, body and tail) and how far away from one another they are—the tracker will take care of measuring everything else for you.
The tracker works with any game
With today’s technology, we can go anywhere and do anything without ever having to leave our homes. Not only are games being created at a higher level of quality than ever before, but virtual reality is making it possible for us to become fully immersed in them. The first step toward achieving full immersion is by creating what’s called the tracking effect. It’s a phenomenon where users feel like they are inside of their game world because everything they see, hear and feel—from their movement to how they see their hands—is so real. The HTC Vive VR system tracker makes that experience even more immersive by allowing gamers to track objects such as weapons or tools within these virtual worlds... giving players an advantage that helps separate them from other players.
