Vive Facial Tracker

March 16, 2021

Vive Facial Tracker Can Work with Index and Other PC Headsets, If You Can Mount It

Last week HTC announced a new accessory, the Vive Facial Tracker. Though the device is designed to mount to the Vive Pro, it turns out it’s technically compatible with other PC VR headsets, provided you can find a way to mount it in the right spot.

HTC’s new Vive Facial Tracker accessory, set to launch later this month, promises to track “38 facial movements across the lips, jaw, teeth, tongue, chin, and cheeks.” When the company introduced the device, it only announced compatibility with its Vive Pro line of headsets.

Apparently that’s only half the story. The headset can technically work with any PC VR headset, according to host Mike from YouTube channel Virtual Reality Oasis who tested the Vive Facial Tracker with the Valve Index headset:

A little clip of the new Vive Facial Tracker working with the Valve Index… pic.twitter.com/fjbq4PigpF

— Mike – VRO (@vr_oasis) March 15, 2021

According to Mike, the Vive Facial Tracker ought to work with any PC VR headset as long as you can find a way to mount the tracker to offer a good view of your mouth. Of course, it’ll work best with headsets that have an on-board USB port (like Vive Pro, original Vive, Valve Index, and Pimax), though on some you’ll need an adapter for the Vive Facial Tracker’s USB-C port.

Clearly the Vive Facial Tracker will work best with the Vive Pro because its mount is specially designed to fit the headset, but pulling together a DIY solution seems straightforward enough. And we wouldn’t be surprised to see 3D printed mounts for other headsets start to pop up after the March 24th release date of the Vive Facial Tracker.

As far as HTC is concerned, the company isn’t guaranteeing the product will work well with other headsets. Shen Ye, the Sr. Director of Hardware Products at HTC, says the camera’s computer vision model was trained specifically from the vantage point of the Vive Pro, so any mounting that deviates from that perspective could impact tracking performance. He also says that USB-A (male) to USB-C (female) adapters are “against USB-IF specs,” and notes, “these adapters have no spec to conform to, so attempt this at your own risk.”

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March 10, 2021

HTC Vive Reveals Next-Gen Vive Trackers and the Vive Facial Tracker

After all the teasing recently on Twitter, HTC Vive has finally unveiled what all the fuss is about, and it isn’t a new headset – not yet anyway. The company has revealed its third-generation Vive Tracker and a Vive Facial Tracker.

HTC VIVE Facial Tracker — HTC Vive Facial Tracker

The Vive Tracker originally launched back in 2017, allowing developers to play with full-body tracking or the tracking of peripherals. Today’s launch offers a new and improved Vive Tracker 3.0, providing up to 75% increased battery life, 15% reduction in weight, and a 33% smaller footprint over the previous generation. That means a single charge should give you around seven hours of continuous use.

Fully compatible with SteamVR 2.0 and 1.0 tracking solutions and all SteamVR-based headsets, the Vive Tracker 3.0 is fully backwards compatible with previous generations and features the same mounting system for easy integration into existing setups. It’s available in Europe today, retailing for £129 GBP/€139 EUR on HTC Vive’s website as well as participating retailers Scan, Amazon and Overclockers UK.

Trackers are a vital part of VR experiences like Rezzil Player 21, a title designed for football training. “The new VIVE mini-Tracker has faultless tracking for Rezzil, and great reliability,” said the Rezzil team. “In addition the smaller size really helps with younger Academy players, meaning skills development can be supported for any age group. Rezzil works with the best football clubs in the world, so only the best hardware will do.”

The Vive Facial Tracker, on the other hand, is entirely new. As the name suggests, this new add-on tracks your face for a real-time depiction of facial expressions. Able to track 38 facial movements across the lips, jaw, teeth, tongue, chin, and cheeks, essential for making avatars more expressive and lifelike. Able to simply stick to the HTC Vive Pro – no mention of Vive Cosmos compatibility – the tracker has a dual-camera setup with a 60Hz tracking rate and an IR illuminator for low light situations. It’s also available in Europe today, retailing for £129/€139 via the HTC Vive website.

“The VR community has unlimited creativity and we’ve seen the VIVE Tracker everywhere from industrial use, film production, to sports, gaming, and more. With a sleeker design and even longer battery life, the new VIVE Tracker 3.0 is even more versatile,” said Graham Wheeler, General Manager of HTC EMEA in a statement. “And with the new VIVE Facial Tracker, it’s easier than ever to create ultra-realistic characters.”

As HTC Vive continues to reveal more of its 2021 hardware plans, VRFocus will keep you updated.

March 10, 2021

HTC Announces Face-tracker for Vive Pro and Vive Tracker 3.0, Launching This Month for $130

HTC today announced two new VR accessories: a consumer version of its face-tracker and a new version of the Vive Tracker which is said to bring a large jump in battery life alongside being smaller. Both accessories are priced at $130 and will launch in the US starting on March 24th.

HTC’s new Vive Facial Tracker is a face-tracking add-on for the Vive Pro headset. While the company had announced a development kit of the Facial Tracker back in 2019, now the company is selling a version of the device straight to consumers.

The company says the Vive Facial Tracker uses dual cameras running at 60Hz to track “38 facial movements across the lips, jaw, teeth, tongue, chin, and cheeks.” The unit includes an IR illuminator to ensure the area around the user’s mouth stays well lit for the computer-vision tracking to stay at peak performance in any lighting conditions. HTC claims 6ms of latency for the Facial Tracker.

The company revealed two videos of the Vive Facial Tracker in action, though admittedly they don’t do a great job of showing off the unit’s accuracy—granted, it looks like this may be the result of poor 3D model rigging more than the Facial Tracker itself.

We won’t have to wait for long to see for ourselves how the unit performs: the Vive Facial Tracker is set to launch on March 24th for $130.

Vive Tracker 3.0

HTC is also announcing a new version of the Vive Tracker. The company says it is 33% smaller than its predecessor and has 75% more battery life, offering up to seven hours on a single charge.

Functionally, the Vive Tracker 3.0 is the same as the previous model, supporting SteamVR Tracking 1.0 and 2.0. It is also backwards compatible with the same pogo pin and mounting layout, which uses a standard 1/4 tripod screw.

As the only commercially available SteamVR Tracking tracker available, the Vive Tracker has become the de facto standard over the years for tracking additional accessories or limbs inside of VR; some users are even using them to breakdance in VR. However, the Vive Tracker is expected to see some competition later this year.

While weight and size have gone down, unfortunately price is going up. The Vive Tracker 3.0 is priced at $130 (compared to $100 for the 2.0 version) and due to launch on March 24th.

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