An important update has arrived on the SteamVR platform. The news was originally announced last night and revolves around the way things are tracked within the VR environment. New sensor technology will allow for support of additional base stations and better performance. This is a major improvement for SteamVR, which will lead to more quality content.
SteamVR Improves Tracking and Base Station Support
The current iteration of SteamVR only allows supports for up to two different base stations. This is quite a severe limitation, albeit one that was to be expected considering it is the first iteration of this protocol. In the SteamVR Tracking 2.0 update, support for more than two base stations will finally be enabled. A lot of people have been asking for this change, and Valve has listened to their customer base.
Moreover, the bigger update comes in the form of better performance. More specifically, the SteamVR update reduces the number of moving parts and sources of manufacturing variation. This is another major change which will benefit both users and content creators alike. It will be interesting to see how content creators take advantage of this update moving forward.
Both updates are an integral part of Valve’s plan to improve SteamVR Tracking even further over the coming years. Even though this update will not work with the current generation of HMDs, it is good to see some forward momentum regardless. It is expected the second generation of SteamVR-supported headsets will be equipped with new chips to take full advantage of these changes. Current generations of base stations which allow for full-scale room tracking may not support these changes either.
All things considered, this is a big step forward for SteamVR in general. Although the associated cost of buying next-gen hardware will upset some people, it was to be expected. It is good to see companies outline their vision for the future, though, that much is certain. Virtual reality is here to stay and SteamVR will remain a major player for quite some time to come.
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