HTC Vive VR glasses | Soon available for developers

A few weeks ago HTC gave us a little surprise with the presentation of HTC Vive, the virtual reality glasses which the company launched in collaboration with Valve. Since then they had indicated that the first versions of these glasses would be available only to developers, and that promise is now consolidated.

HTC Vive VR glasses

HTC Vive VR glasses

The Taiwanese brand and Valve have started up a website to request access to this device, an option exclusively oriented to developers who want to start working on all types of applications, games and content that exploit the output of these glasses. The units will be limited, though, and so far there will be no access for the public.

In Valve explained that the idea is ‘to support as many VR content creators as possible and, to that end, we will be distributing dev kits continually, with new units going out every couple weeks’. In the login form it is requested data such as website, company name, description of virtual reality project or an estimated release date of that development.

SteamVR (HTC Vive) Prototype Hands-On

SteamVR (HTC Vive) Prototype Hands-On

HTC and Valve RV glasses offered as a highlight the ‘Lighthouse‘ positional tracking system, which can record both the position and orientation of these glasses as well as the drivers in a limited space. At the moment there will be no units available for end users to purchase, which Oculus has indeed done as much to Rift DK1 as to Rift DK2; however, in Valve they ensure that the HTC Vive commercial version will come at the end of this year; what is more, it is rumored that this device will be for sale in November.