So is OSVR dead?

[VRManiac]

I'm doing some VR dev work and currently only have Vive and Oculus for testing/QA. I was looking into other PC-powered HMD's and it seems the only one that's ever had some steam behind it was the OSVR headset produced by Razr.

After researching the product a bit more, reading forums, news releases, etc, it appears that the product is pretty much dead at this point... HMD tracking appears messed up pretty badly, and the one-man-team working on it has stopped for health reasons. Also, the motion controllers typically used with it have been discontinued, and there are no plans that I can find from Razr or other manufacturers to come up with a motion controller system that works with OSVR.

Does anyone know more about this situation? I was excited to see Razr bring the HDK2 to market, but it seems like they're treating it as a proof-of-concept or pet project rather than a real product offering.

[Balderick]

Vive controllers work with osvr headset. Oculus touch controllers work with osvr headset. Nod backspin and razer hydra both work in vr. All this is thanks to OSVR.

So nope, OSVR is far from being dead. OSVR was created to help provide a means of making sure vr hardware remained an open platform. Valve provide some support for OSVR and their steamvr to osvr bridging library is called openvr. SteamVR is a runtime rather than an api

Did you know Valve have their own HDK for steamvr hardware develoopment? Many controllers, headsets and other tracked vr devices will be shipping early part of next year that wer designed using Valves SteamVR Tracking HDK.

The emergence of standalone devices allowing untethered vr experiences are also coming early next year. Devices like Gameface Labs's Head Mounted Console totally merge mobile and pc vr platforms.

[VRManiac]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Balderick:

Vive controllers work with osvr headset.

Which one?

[Balderick]

Both the left and the right work. You need two light house stations as well as controllers. The oculus touch also need an additional ir camera.

[VRManiac]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Balderick:

Both the left and the right work. You need two light house stations as well as controllers. The oculus touch also need an additional ir camera.

I thought the Vive HMD aggregated all positional data and sent it to the API.... Are you telling me the Vive controllers send data independently to the API?

EDIT: Not trying to call BS on you here, but I really don't think you can take an OSVR headset like the HDK2 and use Vive controllers with it.

[Balderick]

yes. Each vr device snds data back to mother ship independently.

[VRManiac]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Balderick:

yes. Each vr device snds data back to mother ship independently.

I'd like to see that in the specification. From what I've read on the subject the motion controllers are paired via the HMD's bluetooth, and send positional data to the HMD for aggregation and communication back to the API layer. If you think that's not true, please post some kind of reference.

EDIT: Again, don't mean to sound like a ♥♥♥♥ here, but I think factually this is just incorrect...

[Balderick]

The best description afaik of how steamvr works in relation to the vr apps it runs is by a valve dev. A library of great videos is DevDays2016. You can download them free of charge from steam store.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/534600/

[VRManiac]

Thanks Balderick for the store link. These look really interesting.

[Black Blade]

The videos are really interesting, how ever
You cant use Vive controllers at these time without the headset it self (Or if you where lucky enough to get early on, you may have a dongle for the PC to do so) (there is also some guys trying to flash the Steam Controller dongle to use it for that, if that works it may work)

Over all how ever for now you have to have your Vive connected to connect the Controllers, meaning that exeapt if you going to spend 800$ to use the Vive as a dongle for the Vive controllers you cant really do it now it seems

But over all if there will be a way to connect the Controllers to the PC without the Vive it self, then i think its correct that it will work with the OSVR, as long as the lighthouse system dose not harm the HDK2 IR system...
Also as pointed out you can use Hydra for it

Abut Touch for Rift, i am pretty sure its the same problem as the Vive, that they connect to the headset first, so you cant just connect them to the PC without the Rift headset at these time

I may always be wrong how ever

[Balderick]

Actualy an osvr server appropriately configured for an osvr hdk headset, an osvr hdk ir camera, a pair of lighthouse stations and a pair of vive controllers could be used to access any vr app.. The OSVR-Vive drivers are found here https://github.com/OSVR/OSVR-Vive.

The whole point of OSVR being in existence is that its runtime is not optimsed for one particular brand of vr hardware and supports all vr hardware thus allowing any combination of any available (and even the ones that don't exist yet!) vr devices and vr hardware as well as any platform, game engine, application that supports vr too work.

I am more often wrong than am correct!.

[Black Blade]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Balderick:

Actualy an osvr server appropriately configured for an osvr hdk headset, an osvr hdk ir camera, a pair of lighthouse stations and a pair of vive controllers could be used to access any vr app.. The OSVR-Vive drivers are found here https://github.com/OSVR/OSVR-Vive.

The whole point of OSVR being in existence is that its runtime is not optimsed for one particular brand of vr hardware and supports all vr hardware thus allowing any combination of any available (and even the ones that don't exist yet!) vr devices and vr hardware as well as any platform, game engine, application that supports vr too work.

I am more often wrong than am correct!.

I see the drivers, but i am yet unsure if you can just connect physically the controllers with that, or did i read that wrong?

And here it seems it says the same:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OSVR/comments/520a39/does_osvr_support_the_htc_vive_lighthouses_and/d7j4egd/

[Michael]

OSVR is not produced by razr, it's produced by Sensics! The HDK 2 is manufactured by Razr.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensics

You can buy it for $300 only 1 left.

https://www.amazon.com/OSVR-HDK-Head-mounted-display-experiences/dp/B01HDUVIZ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1482199918&sr=8-1&keywords=OSVR+HDK+2

You will have to pay $350 from amazon though

here's a list of content the works on the OSVR
https://www.reddit.com/r/osvr/wiki/content

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Black Blade:

I see the drivers, but i am yet unsure if you can just connect physically the controllers with that, or did i read that wrong?

And here it seems it says the same:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OSVR/comments/520a39/does_osvr_support_the_htc_vive_lighthouses_and/d7j4egd/

Everything is done through steamVR as it comes to playing steam VR games. the drivers for the lighthouses are not the same drivers for the HMDs this is how to can use a OR with the vive wands.

[VRManiac]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Michael:

OSVR is not produced by razr, it's produced by Sensics! The HDK 2 is manufactured by Razr.

Yeah, poor wording on my part. I meant that HDK2 is an OSVR-compliant headset made by Razr, and is probably the most well-known/available.

[Michael]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von VRManiac:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Michael:

OSVR is not produced by razr, it's produced by Sensics! The HDK 2 is manufactured by Razr.

Yeah, poor wording on my part. I meant that HDK2 is an OSVR-compliant headset made by Razr, and is probably the most well-known/available.

Not to meantion there's four versions of the OSVR ( 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and 2.0) out in the wild.

[Balderick]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Black Blade:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Balderick:

Actualy an osvr server appropriately configured for an osvr hdk headset, an osvr hdk ir camera, a pair of lighthouse stations and a pair of vive controllers could be used to access any vr app.. The OSVR-Vive drivers are found here https://github.com/OSVR/OSVR-Vive.

The whole point of OSVR being in existence is that its runtime is not optimsed for one particular brand of vr hardware and supports all vr hardware thus allowing any combination of any available (and even the ones that don't exist yet!) vr devices and vr hardware as well as any platform, game engine, application that supports vr too work.

I am more often wrong than am correct!.

I see the drivers, but i am yet unsure if you can just connect physically the controllers with that, or did i read that wrong?

And here it seems it says the same:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OSVR/comments/520a39/does_osvr_support_the_htc_vive_lighthouses_and/d7j4egd/

which was made in reply too https://www.reddit.com/r/OSVR/comments/520a39/does_osvr_support_the_htc_vive_lighthouses_and/d7gbwl9/

After reading the quote you shared the last paragraph describes a solution in having usb wireless receivers for controlloers. I have a cunning plan for that. Just purchase steam controller dongles and flash with a steamvr controller wireless tranciever firmware! http://steamcommunity.com/app/507090/discussions/0/312265473878773762/

I do not have vive controller hardware to test