Skip to main content

VR sensors for your pets could help keep them from getting kicked

Anyone who has used a virtual reality headset in an environment with pets knows that it can be challenging to avoid accidentally kicking them or whacking them with motion controllers. One VR developer, Triangular Pixels, is trying to solve that problem by strapping HTC Vive sensors to cats.

Triangular Pixels Creative Director Katie Goode described the experiment in a blog post titled “Worlds First VR Tracked Cat! Vive Tracker VR Pet Hacking.”

Recommended Videos

“The aim is to give players a warning of unpredictable pets/children when they enter the space, and the potential to of course — actually see their companion in games,” Goode wrote.

HTC recently began sending out units from its initial batch of Vive-tracking sensors, according to Tom’s Hardware. HTC showed the trackers off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, where we noted that the light, versatile sensors give developers the ability to “turn the Vive into a giant toy box.”

Various room-scale VR systems have solutions in place already for showing a physical space’s boundaries with digital representations, like the holographic walls that can appear in HTC Vive experiences to let you know when you’re approaching walls or furniture in real life. Triangular Pixels’ system can apparently provide a similar solution for curious pets in the room, though Goode’s post also hinted that the sensors could be used to create virtual reality representations of pets as well.

Getting a pet to cooperate long enough to play a game would be a different story. “We need to make sure the device can be removed very swiftly from not-so-patient cats/dogs, and safely come off if it gets really caught — but at the same time, stay on for the average rolling around and sleeping a pet may do,” Goode wrote. “Fortunately the tracker itself is very light, so is perfect for this kind of fabric hacking.”

As you can see in the Instagram video below, combining pets and VR is not currently ideal, so best of luck to Triangular Pixels as they tackle this crucial niche.

Michael Rougeau
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…
Everything HTC announced at ViveCon 2021: Vive Focus 3 and Vive Pro 2
everything htc announced at vivecon 2021 vive focus 3 vice pro 2

HTC took to its ViveCon virtual reality conference to announce two new VR headsets that cater to professional and enterprise needs. From the stand-alone Vive Focus 3 to the PC-based HTC Vive Pro 2, HTC VR owners will benefit from some big upgrades this year.

The company cited PwC's research, which predicts that VR and AR will add more than $1.4 trillion to the global economy by 2030 in highlighting the importance of virtual reality. At stake is the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs across every sector and industry, HTC said.

Read more
How to watch HTC’s ViveCon today, the ‘most important VR event of the year’
htc vivecon vr headsets 2021 vive air leak

HTC has been teasing that multiple new virtual reality headsets could be launching at ViveCon, the company's VR conference, this year. Slated to take place virtually this year on May 11, HTC had announced its plan to "[unveil] game-changing VR headsets, software, and platforms to take your experience to another level" at the show. Depending on what's announced, these new VR headsets sound like they could replace a number of options that are currently considered the best VR headsets you can buy.

While ViveCon is expected to be an enterprise-specific conference this year, those following the augmented, virtual, and mixed reality market could see how HTC is advancing the segment with its latest wares and platform to foster more innovation in the VR space.
How to watch ViveCon 2021 live stream

Read more
Two new ‘game-changing’ VR headsets could arrive at HTC’s ViveCon next week
HTC Vive Pro Eye virtual reality headset

HTC has been teasing that a new virtual reality headset could launch at its Vivecon conference next week, but the company may have more up its sleeve. We are hearing reports that HTC has several VR headsets in the works. The company is expected to launch at least two new headsets at ViveCon on May 11, and it will likely use the venue to talk about the recently leaked Vive Air.

The two headsets rumored to be launching at ViveCon are the HTC Vive Pro 2 and the Vive Focus 3 Business Edition. HTC's sports-focused Vive Air was leaked late last month, but the company quickly debunked speculation that this particular model will be launching any time soon. Instead, HTC said that the Vive Air is just a concept.

Read more