HTC is bringing the Vive Tracker technology to standalone headsets

HTC announced a new product at CES that will bring the capabilities of its Vive Tracker pucks to its standalone Vive Focus 3 headset. The new Vive Wrist Trackers will be available soon.

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HTC loves to bring out accessories for its VR hardware. Last year, the company launched the Vive Focus 3, the first US-bound 6-DoF standalone headset from Vive. The Focus 3 is a competent device that was well received by reviewers. Standalone headsets are shaping up to be the future of the VR medium but switching away from the PC platform meant losing accessory support. The Vive Wrist Trackers should solve many of those problems.

The new Vive Wrist Trackers attach to your wrist and allow your headset to keep better track of your arm motion, especially when using hand-tracking over the included controllers. The Vive Wrist Trackers have LED lights just like the controllers, which allows the headset to track their position with its tracking cameras. The trackers also have a high-frequency IMU, so you don't lose wrist tracking when the cameras lose sight of the trackers.

Like the old Vive Trackers, you can use the Vive Wrist Trackers to add tracking to non-tracked objects, such as sports equipment or gun props. You can also use the trackers to bring real tools into VR training solutions.

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HTC said the Vive Wrist Trackers are 85% smaller and 50% lighter than the Focus 3 controllers, so they may be more comfortable to use than the bundled controllers. The Wrist Trackers offer a 4-hour runtime.

HTC did not say when the Vive Wrist Trackers would be available, but the company said the trackers would be available in "early 2022" and a cost of $129.