HTC's Vive Focus 3 Update Could Free Gallery From VR Backpacks

HTC is adding some major updates to its Vive Focus 3 VR headsets, aiming to improve them for the big free-roaming multiplayer VR games.

The Vive Focus 3, a $ 1,300 non-consumer-focused wireless headset, is adding a new feature called Location-Based Entertainment or LBE Mode. The LBE mode greatly extends the tracking distance of the headset to 33 by 30 meters. Meanwhile, an additional feature called Map Sharing allows multiple headsets to share the same virtual world at the same location.

Together, these features mean that the Focus 3 can more easily support group VR sessions that you would find in a free-immersion arcade space like Zero Latency or The Void. HTC has added a few other options as well. There is a mode that immediately calibrates the headphones when a new user puts them on rather than requiring a short setup process, which is designed to help game rooms get people through experiences more quickly. An additional calibration mode will allow the headphones to track objects in addition to the Focus 3 controller, including the Vive Tracker disc. And the headphones will soon support the WiFi 6E standard.

Location-based virtual reality entertainment, the kind in which users move through an actual physical field with other people rather than standing in a stationary space, often relies on plugging in headsets like the original HTC Vive into computers. backpack laptops. That has several downsides: it takes time to put people in the backpacks, the backpack strap systems can fit poorly for some users and make the experience less comfortable for everyone. Many of the headsets also require external track beacons like HTC and Valve's Lighthouse system, which must be installed on the ceiling and can be accidentally blocked by other players.

Fully autonomous systems that incorporate tracking cameras and computing power into the headphones can change that. But they've only been widely available for a couple of years, and the biggest, Facebook / Meta's Oculus Quest, is primarily aimed at home use. The Vive Focus 3 has a similar feature set to the Quest, but is designed for businesses, and this update reinforces HTC's long-standing presence in the VR location-based games and entertainment market. It could also make virtual reality arcades, which have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, more fun and convenient places to visit.