HTC VIVE Facial Tracker and Tracker 3.0 revealed and the must-see results are astonishing

By Eric Abent/

HTC announced a pair of new VR tracking devices today, introducing the VIVE Tracker 3.0 and the VIVE Facial Tracker. As the name suggests, the VIVE Tracker 3.0 is a refresh of the tracker HTC has offered for VR headsets, and it's arriving with a refined design and better battery life. The VIVE Facial Tracker, meanwhile, is a companion to the VIVE Pro Eye that will allow for more accurate face tracking across the board.

First, the VIVE Facial Tracker. HTC says that the the add-on can track up to 38 different facial movements, and when it's paired with the VIVE Pro Eye, users can enable full-face tracking. The device has a sub-10 millisecond response time and uses dual cameras to capture the movements of the bottom half of your face. It can also track in low-light environments thanks to infrared illumination.

We actually got to see the VIVE Facial Tracker in action thanks to a demo published by Frooxius, a clip of which you can see embedded in the tweet below. VIVE only says that the Facial Tracker will be available soon, with a price point of $129.99.

Then we have the VIVE Tracker 3.0, which is not only smaller and lighter than its predecessor, but it offers better battery life. On Twitter, HTC says that the Tracker 3.0 is "fully compatible with all steamVR headsets" and that it offers 240-degree field of view tracking. Over on the VIVE website, we get more detailed stats about the device, with HTC saying that it's 33% smaller and 15% lighter than its predecessor. It also has up to 75% more battery life, which is quite the boast.

Like the Facial Tracker, the VIVE Tracker 3.0 will run $129.99 and is "coming soon." So, just like that, HTC has a couple new tracking accessories coming to the VIVE – we'll let you know when the company announces more, so stay tuned.

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