HTC reveals tech demo for multi-room VR using Steam

HTC has shown off a demo featuring a virtual reality experience capable of spanning multiple rooms.

To create the experience, HTC used a beta version of Valve’s SteamVR platform, a Vive Pro VR headset and 16 linked base stations. Alvin Wang Graylin, HTC’s China regional president of VR, uploaded a video to Twitter showing the paired technology in action.

https://twitter.com/AGraylin/status/1016992465742585857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1016992465742585857&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.engadget.com%2F2018%2F07%2F15%2Fhtc-hints-at-multi-room-steamvr%2F

Taking place in an office space, the demo features a Vive Pro-equipped man exiting one room, walking through a hallway and eventually making his way into a large cubicle area. While walking, the man is able to interact with physical objects in the space around him.

It’s important to note that this is more of a tech demo than an actual ready-to-play VR experience. As Valve developer Alan Yates noted in a response to Graylin’s original tweets, the demo is currently limited in a number of ways.

To be completely clear; the 1st four that it sees in a session. So this announcement is a little premature. This release is mainly about beta support for the radio-based channel configuration tools.

— Alan Yates (@vk2zay) July 11, 2018

While the entire setup incorporates 16 base stations, the demo in question can only track four at a time. Therefore, Yates said the release is “mainly about beta support for the radio-based channel configuration tools.”

Via: Engadget