HTC launched a full face tracker for Vive XR Elite, and it even tracks mouth movement
Hey there, VR enthusiasts! Let's chat about HTC's latest gadget, the Full Face Tracker for the Vive XR Elite. It's a nifty piece of tech, but let's keep our feet on the ground and see what it's really about, especially when we compare it to what's out there, like the tech in Meta's Quest headsets.
Alright, so HTC has rolled out this accessory called the Full Face Tracker. It sticks onto the Vive XR Elite headset with magnets and connects through a USB-C port. What does it do? It tracks your eyes and mouth movements. It's got two cameras for the eyes and one for the mouth. The eye-tracking is pretty smooth at 120Hz, while the mouth gets tracked at 60Hz. Plus, there's a neat little design touch with a hinged flap for the mouth camera, making it less bulky when you're not using it.
Now, it's priced at $200. What do you get for that? Well, in VR worlds, your avatar can mimic your facial expressions more realistically, for starters. There's even an automatic adjustment for the distance between your eyes — that's IPD, or interpupillary distance, for the uninitiated. After all, you’re going to want eye tracking to match your specific set of peepers, right?
HTC's eye tracking means it follows where your eyes are looking and how they move. But this isn’t anything new, since Meta’s headsets have had the same capabilities built-in for a long time now.
And then there's mouth tracking and tongue tracking. Again, with HTC's new toy, we're talking more detailed tracking of your mouth movements. The Quest, on the other hand, is more about sensing if you're smiling — or maybe just mouthing off to an NPC in a game. Then there’s tongue tracking, but that’s reserved only for the Quest Pro for now.
But let's not get carried away. Cool as it is, it's an extra expense and not every game or app will use it. Plus, while it's built with OpenXR in mind, that's no guarantee it'll work seamlessly with everything out there.
Don't get me wrong, HTC's Full Face Tracker is a neat addition to the Vive XR Elite, adding a layer of realism to your VR experience with detailed eye and mouth tracking. But it's always good to remember that more features mean more cost and not every VR experience needs this level of detail. It's a cool step forward, but whether it's a game-changer or just a nice-to-have, well, that's up to how it gets used in the VR world. Keep an eye out (pun intended!) to see how it shapes up!
Alright, so HTC has rolled out this accessory called the Full Face Tracker. It sticks onto the Vive XR Elite headset with magnets and connects through a USB-C port. What does it do? It tracks your eyes and mouth movements. It's got two cameras for the eyes and one for the mouth. The eye-tracking is pretty smooth at 120Hz, while the mouth gets tracked at 60Hz. Plus, there's a neat little design touch with a hinged flap for the mouth camera, making it less bulky when you're not using it.
HTC's eye tracking means it follows where your eyes are looking and how they move. But this isn’t anything new, since Meta’s headsets have had the same capabilities built-in for a long time now.
But let's not get carried away. Cool as it is, it's an extra expense and not every game or app will use it. Plus, while it's built with OpenXR in mind, that's no guarantee it'll work seamlessly with everything out there.
Don't get me wrong, HTC's Full Face Tracker is a neat addition to the Vive XR Elite, adding a layer of realism to your VR experience with detailed eye and mouth tracking. But it's always good to remember that more features mean more cost and not every VR experience needs this level of detail. It's a cool step forward, but whether it's a game-changer or just a nice-to-have, well, that's up to how it gets used in the VR world. Keep an eye out (pun intended!) to see how it shapes up!
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