Virtual reality enthusiasts have been looking forward to full-body tracking. So far, that technology has been well out of reach, despite some good efforts by Oculus and HTC. It now appears a new piece of technology will soon introduce skeletal tracking to multi-player VR experiences. That is a major development for this young industry. It will also improve the realistic look and feel of virtual reality as a whole.
Skeletal Tracking is Coming to Virtual Reality
Engaging in virtual reality is all about immersion and a realistic experience. So far, that has been rather difficult to achieve, to say the least. Most of the existing experiences do not even come close to providing a high degree of realism. OptiTrack is looking to change all of that with their new tracking technology. More specifically, their new whole-body tracking solution could make locomotion-based VR a mainstream trend.
It appears this new technology comes in a rather small form factor as well. There are “pucks” which can be attached to your hand and feet. Every single puck can track additional movements, which can be combined with existing capabilities of the VR headset being used. As a result, we get full-body tracking in multiplayer VR worlds. This will be a very significant development for the future of virtual reality, assuming the project comes to market at an affordable rate.
It is worth noting OptiTrack has been selling this technology for some time now. Mainly VR arcades and movie theatres are some of their clients. This new solution is a consumer-grade version of the same technology, although it remains to be seen when it becomes available for purchase. Both Oculus and HTC have good tracking capabilities, but they are limited to room-scale. A skeletal tracking feature takes things to a whole new level, that much is evident.
All of this goes to show improvements will come to the virtual reality industry sooner or later. The industry is still in the very early stages and early adopters have to take the good with the bad for the time being. Skeletal tracking is one feature a lot of people will be looking forward to, that much is evident. OptiTrack may be one of the market leaders in this regard, assuming no one beats them to market. OptiTrack also introduced self-calibrating track systems which will take VR arcades to the next level.
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