HTC’s new Vive Tracker accessory was announced today, and while the company says it will launch to consumers in Q2 2017, ahead of that release HTC plans to give away at least 1,000 to VR developers.
At CES 2017 today, HTC announced their new Vive Tracker accessory, a standalone tracking device which is made to attach to real-world objects and third-party accessories. The company showed the Tracker in use with a wide range of third-party accessories.
While one use-case is direct to consumer, HTC is also expecting the developer community to be a major part of the Tracker’s ecosystem, enabling companies to make trackable accessories without the need for more complex total integration with SteamVR tracking technology.
Like the ‘Vive Pre’—of which thousands were given away ahead of the Vive’s consumer launch—HTC said they’d give away at least 1,000 Vive Tracker units to developers ahead of the device’s Q2 consumer launch. Details on how developers can secure one will be made available at a later date, though it sounds like it will be an application-based process.
Pricing on the HTC Vive Tracker hasn’t yet been announced, though we suspect it will be around $100, putting it in line with the cost of the Vive controller which has similar components.
