While the virtual reality (VR) industry is gearing up for an exciting 2016, HTC and Valve, collaborators on the HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD) are one step closer to the consumer release. The headset and its laser-based room-scale tracking system Lighthouse has recently passed certification by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for consumer sale, reports Engadget.
The Lighthouse system uses two base stations positioned on the wall that fire a sweeping laser across the room, detecting panels on the headset and controllers. It can create an area up to 15 feet by 15 feet for a user to move about in depending on the software and space available.
Products that use Wi-Fi, infrared and laser tech have to pass through the FCC’s procedures to ensure they are safe and compatible with legal regulations. The information was reveal by the agency late last month and helps continue the HTC Vive’s new schedule for release, now slated for April.
This delay coming from “a very, very big technological breakthrough”, according to HTC CEO Cher Wang. Whether further details of this will be revealed this week at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada isn’t clear although it has been teased.
VRFocus will be at CES 2016 to bring you all the latest VR news from the show as announcements are made.
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