Valve makes VR tracking system available royalty-free

Valve has announced that all licenses for SteamVR’s tracking system will be free. This means that other hardware builders can get started creating peripherals that use the SteamVR tracking interface.

HTC and Valve’s tracking system uses a system called Lighthouse. This works with two base stations that have to be hung in the corner of the playing field. They are actually two square boxes that are shielded with dark plastic behind which are infrared LEDs and lasers. The infrared lights flash and the lasers rotate. It is not necessary to connect the boxes to a computer, because all information is collected by the peripherals themselves and then communicated to the main computer.

Developers who want to get started with the system still have to dig into their pockets, despite the ‘royalty free’ license. A dev kit with PCBs, Vive base stations and forty separate sensors to develop your own hardware is still free for licensees approved by Steam and HTC. The licensees must then attend a seminar in Seattle in the United States in September for $2,975 per participant. Later on, seminars will also be held in other parts of the world.

It is unknown whether Valve will give everyone the opportunity to participate in the developer program, Ars Technica writes. For example, when asked whether Valve will allow developers of sex toys that are compatible with SteamVR, the site has not yet received an answer.

HTC recently launched a program for start-ups that want to get started with VR hardware within the Vive X Accelerator program. It has designated several locations in the world for this. HTC has put $100 million into the program so far.

Vive Lighthouse Base Station