Difference between revisions of "SteamVR"

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The sensors on the controllers are [[photodiode]]s.
 
The sensors on the controllers are [[photodiode]]s.
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==Apps==
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[[Dashboard]] -
  
 
==Developer==
 
==Developer==
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'''[[Lighthouse]]''' is a laser-based [[positional tracking]] system developed by [[Valve]] for SteamVR. It tracks the position and orientation of the user's HMD and controllers in real time.
 
'''[[Lighthouse]]''' is a laser-based [[positional tracking]] system developed by [[Valve]] for SteamVR. It tracks the position and orientation of the user's HMD and controllers in real time.
  
==Features==
 
 
===Chaperone===
 
===Chaperone===
 
'''[[Chaperone]]''' is a system that helps to prevent users from bumping into physical objects or moving outside of the sensor range while using the HMD. The system differentiates soft and hard boundaries. Soft boundaries are the space designated for the specific app or detectable by the sensors while hard boundaries consist of physical walls, obstacles and objects.  
 
'''[[Chaperone]]''' is a system that helps to prevent users from bumping into physical objects or moving outside of the sensor range while using the HMD. The system differentiates soft and hard boundaries. Soft boundaries are the space designated for the specific app or detectable by the sensors while hard boundaries consist of physical walls, obstacles and objects.  

Revision as of 19:39, 30 July 2015

SteamVR
Information
Type Virtual Reality
Subtype Head-mounted Display
Developer Valve
Devices HTC Vive
Website SteamVR

SteamVR is a Virtual Reality Platform developed by Valve. SteamVR offers a 360 degrees, full room VR experience. It was officially announced on March 1, 2015 during the Mobile World Congress. Valve partnered with HTC to release SteamVR's first device, HTC Vive, a VR HMD similar to Oculus Rift. Unlike Oculus, SteamVR features a "holodeck" experience, allowing the users to move and position themselves freely within a confined space.

Devices

HTC Vive

HTC Vive is SteamVR's first product. The HDM was a partnership between Valve and HTC. It was announced on March 1, 2015 and showcased during the GDC 2015 between March 2 - 6. When paired with 2 SteamVR Base Stations and 2 SteamVR Controllers, HTC Vive can accurately track the position and movements of your head and hands within the 15 by 15 feet space.

Accessories

Tracking

Beacons - the dual Beacons, also known as Base Stations, are part of the Lighthouse tracking system of SteamVR. These small, rectangular objects are placed in the opposite corners of the room, near the ceiling. They serve as reference points that enable the positional tracking of your HMD and SteamVR controllers within the 3D space. The Beacons enable Lighthouse to track your head and hands with accuracy, low latency and sub-millimeter precision within a specified space (currently about 15 by 15 feet).

Input Devices

SteamVR Controllers - these wireless controllers look like a pair of nunchucks with sensors on top. Each hand holds 1 of the 2 wireless controllers. Each controller has a trigger and circular haptic trackpad. The sensors allow the controllers to be tracked by the SteamVR Base Stations with the same way as the HMD. The controllers are tracked with very high precision and low latency.

The sensors on the controllers are photodiodes.

Apps

Dashboard -

Developer

Technology

Positional Tracking

Lighthouse is a laser-based positional tracking system developed by Valve for SteamVR. It tracks the position and orientation of the user's HMD and controllers in real time.

Chaperone

Chaperone is a system that helps to prevent users from bumping into physical objects or moving outside of the sensor range while using the HMD. The system differentiates soft and hard boundaries. Soft boundaries are the space designated for the specific app or detectable by the sensors while hard boundaries consist of physical walls, obstacles and objects.

When you move near the edge of the "holodeck", virtual grid walls would appear in your display. These walls indicate that you are at the boundary of the sensors or near physical walls of your room. The walls would disappear when you move away from the boundary.

History

March 1, 2015 - SteamVR and HTC Vive were officially announced on March 1, 2015 in World Mobile Conference.

March 2 - 6, 2015 - SteamVR and HTC Vive were showcased first time to the public.

April 21, 2015 - Sign-ups for the Developer Edition of HTC Vive began.

April 30, 2015 - OpenVR SDK was released.