HTC puts a front-facing camera in Vive to keep things real

It’s easy to believe that you really are underwater watching a whale swim by while wearing the HTC Vive virtual reality headset. But the company has now made it easier to snap out of the virtual world without taking off the equipment.

The HTC Vive comes with a virtual reality headset, controllers and sensors that sit in the corners of a room.The Vive allows the user to walk around the room and see the virtual experience in 360 degrees. But HTC added a “chaperone” to make sure that people feel comfortable even as they suddenly bump into something while using the device. When the user approaches that something, a digital grid shows up in that view.

Now, HTC has added a front-facing camera that takes the chaperone element a bit further. By clicking a button on the Vive system’s controllers, the camera kicks in to show the user an outline of the furniture and people in the room.

The idea is to let people easily interact with the real world without having to take off the headset and interrupt the virtual world.

The HTC headset, developed with Bellevue gaming company Valve, will start accepting pre-orders in late February. The price hasn’t yet been announced.

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