E3 2015: SteamVR and OpenVR on the cards too for the eye-tracking VR headset
FOVE, the indie eye-tracking VR headset that’s raising funds on Kickstarter this month, has made some big announcements at gaming expo E3 2015.
The headset will support both Valve’s SteamVR platform and its Open VR SDK, which in turn has joined up to Razer’s OSVR standard. That’s in addition to compatibility with the Wear VR app store which already has almost 1,000 apps and games. Essentially FOVE is making sure its users have as much VR content to get stuck into as possible and that’s a smart move.
Read this: How FOVE’s eye-tracking tech works
What’s really exciting is that FOVE also announced that if its Kickstarter campaign – currently on $430,000, with 17 days to go until it ends on 4 July – reaches a $700,000 stretch goal, it will integrate Valve’s Lighthouse tech into its developer kits.
That means that the FOVE headset will not only track our head and eyes accurately but, like the HTC Vive headset, also track our hands and our body’s position in the room using base stations which FOVE plans to sell separately alongside controllers.
If you haven’t heard of FOVE before, the futuristic system uses an infrared sensor inside the headset to monitor the wearer’s eyes. That means it can simulate depth-of-field as we experience when viewing the real world, adding to the immersion, and have your eye movements mimicked by in-game avatars.
Read this: Made you look – how to trick brains and tell stories in VR
“Both of our companies are very excited about the applications of eye-tracking in VR,” said Yuka Kojima, CEO of FOVE. “The support for SteamVR will bring a wealth of content to FOVE. We have strong confidence that FOVE can and will deliver a revolutionary experience in VR.”
FOVE headsets pledged for on Kickstarter are due to ship in Spring 2016 – the cheapest early bird price now available is $375 for a VR headset and development kit.
