WorldViz developing ‘warehouse-scale’ VR

Oculus can currently offer VR in your seat. HTC Vive allows owners to wander about their room. Now another company is developing free-roaming VR on a far bigger scale.

WorldViz, an enterprise company that specialises in developing new VR tech, says its new technology – called Precision Position Tracking (PPT) – will allow up to ten users to be simultaneously tracked when moving around a space as large as 50 x 50 metres, with sub-millimetre accuracy.

The technology uses 240Hz tracking cameras and sensors that can be attached to a user’s headset and controllers.

It will work with any Unreal Engine 4 or Unity 5 headset, including the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and PlayStation VR. It will also be compatible with Google’s upcoming Daydream.

Support for PPT will be introduced to those engines in June, along with some standalone software. It will cost around $15,000 depending on the nature of the buyer’s set-up.

WorldViz says there will be particular applications for research, construction and architecture projects.