HTC Unveils Facial Tracking Attachment for Vive VR Headsets

We hope youve been practicing your smile, because HTC Vive is keeping up with even the latest of trends. The popular VR hardware brand is about to get a new facial tracking attachment.

Detailed on the official website, the facial tracker is a separate piece of hardware that attaches to the front of existing HTC Vive devices. It will track 38 unique movements across the face, including the lips, jaw, teeth, tongue, chin, and cheeks. Boasting a 6ms latency, the device should allow users to recreate their facial expressions in essentially-real-time.

The system uses the SRanipal SDK, which supports both Unity and Unreal compatibility, allowing it to work with two of the most prolific game engines of the current generation. For a full-face experience, it can be paired with the Vive Pro Eye, an eye tracking system. Combined, users can track and recreate the expressions and motions of their entire face.

The timing for this couldnt be any better. Over the last year or so, the trend of V-Tubers, YouTube channels hosted by digital avatars, has skyrocketed. Channels like CodeMiko and Korone (and the rest of the HoloLive network) have seen notable success, amassing millions of subscribers online. Facial tracking technology is used to emulate real-life motion onto the digital avatars. While the Vive facial tracker appears to be more so intended for use while playing VR games, the main concept remains the same.

Alongside this, HTC has also unveiled an updated version of the external tracker tool. Dubbed the Vive Tracker 3.0, they claim it has a 75% improved battery life, 15% lighter weight, and a 33% smaller footprint (we assume they mean carbon footprint). 
 
Between the tracking technology here and the strange advancements Valve has been making for VR (we're still boggled by the fact that they're working on brain computer interfaces), we're growing ever closer to having a full and complete level of immersion in virtual reality gaming. 

The updated Vive Trackers and the Vive Facial Tracker will become available on March 24, costing $129.99 and $169.99 respectively. Frankly speaking, we expected it to cost more. So this is pretty nice.