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3. Wrist Tracking with TouchDIVER and HTC Vive Trackers

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Erencan edited this page Apr 15, 2022 · 3 revisions

SteamVR Set-up

We want to be able to use the HTC Vive trackers without the need for a Head Mounted Device (HMD) as only the base stations and trackers are required. In order to do this, some configuration files of SteamVR have to be edited. The equipment used:

HMD-free Application

The following guide is copied from the Vive Tracker Utilities github page

  1. Download Steam and SteamVR
  2. Find the <Steam_Directory>/steamapps/common/SteamVR/resources/settings/default.vrsettings file and edit the following settings:
  • “requireHmd”: false
  • “forcedDriver”: null
  • “activateMultipleDrivers”: true
  1. Find the <Steam_Directory>/steamapps/common/SteamVR/drivers/null/resources/settings/default.vrsettings file and edit the following settings:
  • “enable”: true.

Important: These settings may be overwritten by a SteamVR update. Add these values to the steamvr section of the file <Steam_Directory>/config/steamvr.vrsettings. They will override the defaults.

  1. Restart SteamVR if it was open. Unplug your headset and Linkbox if they were plugged.
  2. Plug your dongle if it if you hadn’t done it previously. Make sure your tracker/controller is properly synced. You should see the base stations and the tracker in the SteamVR window.
  3. Additionally, In the SteamVR app, go to Setings > General > SteamVR Home and turn it off. This setting is visible after allowing the Advanced Settings to “Show”.

Important for base stations: The trackers are meant to be mounted higher than the ground level in order for them to actually work. Even if you have followed everything correctly in the above instructions, the base stations may not show up if you don’t place them slightly higher than the desk you’re working on. Moreover, the reflective surfaces or just light reflecting off a surface may be a problem in the detection of the base stations. A similar issue is talked about on this blog post as well.

Unity Integration

  1. For the Unity Integration, we need the UnityVR Plug-in from the Unity Asset store, whose original github page can be found here. In case of an issue, the discussions section can be consulted.
  2. After you import the SteamVR Plug-in, go to the project select the object you want to track and click Add Component.
  3. Select Steam VR_Tracked Object from the imported UnityVR plug-in.
  4. Run the game to ensure it’s in the desired orientation.

If you’re having troubles wit the orientation of the tracked object, follow these steps instead: (as solved in this forum post)

  1. Create an empty Game Object and name it “Tracked Object”.
  2. Select the Tracked Object and click Add Component.
  3. Select Steam VR_Tracked Object from the imported UnityVR plug-in.
  4. Drag the object you want to track in the hierarchy into the Tracked Object so that it becomes a child object of the “Tracked Object”.
  5. In this hierarchy, rotate the actual object in the desired orientation.
  6. Run the game to ensure it’s in the desired orientation.
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