Standalone Vive Tracking Unity Plugin

The Lighthouse Tracking system used in the HTC Vive is very good, however it usually coincides along side using a VR HMD.  Since I have applications that sometimes don’t require a VR headset, but still want the tracking, this led me to build software support for usage of the Standalone Vive Tracker without requiring a HTC Vive HMD.

This includes a calibration routine to build the Cartesian origin for a new tracking space enabling tracking using just 1 tracker and 1 lighthouse base emitter.

I also brought the software over into the Unity Engine as a C++ dll.  This is because other methods for using the tracker cause Unity to Initialize a VR back end for rendering functionality.  I afterwards packaged this as a plugin utility on the Unity Store to allow development of non VR HMD applications that desire the tracking functionality.  You can find it at this Link.  Currently only supports Windows x64, but it can be re-factored to support other platforms if desired.

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Tim T

Tim is specialized in Mixed Reality Applications and Simulations. Where he focuses on improving ways to connect interactive media to the world.