Full body tracking for Steam Frame without a headset
Beyond the Headset: How One Startup is Giving VR Full-Body Tracking a Body
Virtual reality is already a captivating experience, thanks to innovations like Steam Frame, which uses inside-out tracking to map your movements with just your controllers and headset. But for true immersion—the kind that captures the feeling of moving your entire body—there remains a gap. What if we could track not just your hands, but your whole physical presence in the virtual world?
This is the challenge that companies like Soulart are tackling. While established systems, such as Valve’s Base Stations, use infrared technology to pinpoint the location of specific objects like headsets and controllers, they generally focus on specific points rather than holistic, full-body motion tracking. The demand for comprehensive body mapping, especially for immersive social platforms like VRChat, requires a fundamentally different approach.
Enter the Motion Intelligence system from Soulart. This innovative device moves beyond traditional tracking by acting as a motion tracker, operating independently of a PC using its own Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This means Soulart is building a system that can capture and translate full-body actions into virtual reality experiences.
The result is the Station device. This motion tracker is designed to map up to 50 square meters and operates at a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, providing the high fidelity needed for truly realistic simulations. While the magic of machine learning is at work, the system acknowledges that achieving perfect fidelity sometimes involves a slight trade-off—some latency and error can occur. However, the power of the system lies in its adaptability.
To achieve the most accurate and seamless tracking, Soulart suggests that utilizing multiple Stations is the optimal solution, enhancing the overall precision of the motion capture.
The ambitions of the company don’t stop there. Soulart is actively working toward a future where this level of tracking is completely integrated. They are currently developing standalone support for Steam Frame, aiming to eliminate the need for an external computer entirely and unlock true standalone VR potential.
Meanwhile, the community is also finding creative alternatives. Systems like Fluxpose utilize a collection of rechargeable 6DOF trackers that adhere to objects, offering another avenue for mapping full-body movements in the virtual space. Whether through dedicated motion trackers or clever peripheral systems, the goal remains the same: unlocking the potential for realistic, full-body interaction in virtual environments.
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