Jordan O'BrienThe HTC Vive is already one of the most advanced VR headsets currently on the market, but Intel could soon make it even smarter, with a company engineer teasing a RealSense depth-sensing attachment for the Vive.
Ahead of Intel’s developer conference later this month, an Intel engineer tweeted about how VR would be a major component of the upcoming event. He also shared a photo of what appears to be a new RealSense depth-sensing camera that will attach to the HTC Vive.
According to the image the design of the depth-sensing camera is similar to that of other RealSense cameras, which are already available on select drones and PCs. The Vive attachment features six sensors which will track objects in front of the wearer’s face.
Speaking to UploadVR, the engineer in question, Dimitri Diakopoulos, said: “An accessory like this could track hand movement as well as IR-tracked controllers. The system could also scan the environment in real-time. This opens up the potential to detect obstacles automatically. You don’t want to step on your cat while immersed in VR and a sensor like this could help make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The RealSense technology is currently just a prototype, but it’s clear Intel is starting to carve its path into the VR business. The company has struggled in recent years due to dwindling PC sales, which has forced it to pivot to other markets such as Internet of Things
The image on Twitter has since been removed, but Intel is likely to reveal more at its developer conference which is set to take place in San Francisco from August 16-18.