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==Purpose==
The main purpose of the [[HTC Vive]] Chaperone system is to warn the user when they approach a physical barrier, to which they are blind because of the headset they are wearing. This will ideally prevent collisions and minimize accidents. This may help [[virtual reality]] experiences be more immersive because the observer trusts that they are safe to move around in the environment.
A secondary purpose for the Chaperone system is to allow games to interact with the user in a unique way. Because the Chaperone system has information about the user's environment, virtual applications can react to the user's surroundings. It could, for example, generate a location that matches the orientation and layout of the user's room. Conversely, the system could use a techniques like overlapping spaces or [[directed walking]]<ref>http://ict.usc.edu/pubs/Impossible%20Spaces-%20Maximizing%20Natural%20Walking%20in%20Virtual%20Environments%20with%20Self-Overlapping%20Architecture.pdf</ref> to make traverse-able, virtual environments that seem much larger than the user's physical space by distorting the user's perception of distance and rotational displacement.
==Current Limitations==
At the time of writing, the set up procedure for the Chaperon system involves manually delineating the corners of the physical space with the [[HTC ViveSteamVR Controllers]]'s controllers.
One other limitation of the Chaperone system is that it is currently limited to mapping the floor and walls of a space. This means that if the user's space includes a couch it would not be mapped and would present an invisible obstacle (it could, however, be defined as the limiting 'wall' on that side of the space).
