sixense wireless dev kit hydra 2 (2)

Today Sixense, creator of the technology found in the Razer Hydra, announced a new wireless tracking development kit that will essentially come to form the Hydra 2. The company, which formerly sold its technology through Razer, will be marketing the device under its own name and working “directly with developers to create software for the upcoming consumer version…”

Like the Razer Hydra before it, the new Sixense motion tracking unit provides full 6 degrees-of-freedom tracking which means that the base unit can determine the absolute position of the controllers as well as their orientation. The makes the unit perfect for tracking players’ hands in a virtual reality world, allowing them to reach out and interact naturally with the environment.

In addition to the controllers being wireless (perhaps the most requested feature for those who have used the Razer Hydra) the new unit supports tracking of three devices: two controllers and a third device (with the ‘Stem’ label) which appears to be an attachable positional tracker which could clip to your shirt or HMD. Oculus Rift developers have already been using the Razer Hydra for positional headtracking, so the addition of a dedicated device for that purpose would be a huge plus.

It’s interesting to note the indentations in the base of the development kit between the controllers and the Stem unit — looks to me like a place to put other two more controllers or perhaps two more of the Stem trackers…. Two more controllers could mean multiplayer VR with one Hydra unit. Two of the Stem trackers could mean foot tracking for animating avatars, or for a passive omnidirectional treadmill like the Virtuix Omni.

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The new unit adds one additional button on each controller (6 total), but it isn’t clear if the bumper buttons, found above the triggers on the original Razer Hydra, have been removed. The unit will be compatible with games and other apps that were made for the Razer Hydra.

Sixense says that they’ll put the dev kit out there and work with developer feedback to create the forthcoming consumer version of this wireless tracking unit. The company also says that they’re willing to work with devs “to develop their own controllers and motion tracking devices,” which I’m reading as ‘we’ll make your company a motion tracking peripheral with our technology.’

So far Sixense hasn’t announced the price or release date for the wireless Hydra dev kit, but claims that that info will come “soon” along with additional details about the unit.

Sixense Goes Indie

sixense logoEqually as interesting as the new wireless tracking dev kit is that Sixense appears to be going independent. In the past, Sixense had sold their technology to Razer who put it into the Hydra package. Sixense has been careful not to call this the ‘Wireless Hydra’ or ‘Hydra 2’ and is specifically noting that that the unit will be launching under the Sixense name.

In fact, the original Hydra prototype was wireless to begin with. When Razer licensed the tech, they chose to go with a wired version (perhaps because of price concerns). It would appear that the consumer version of this new unit will also be launching as a Sixense product.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • George

    Great idea adding a 3rd tracker for things like the oculus . Would like to see built in haptic feedback, maybe as a model up…

  • Morgan

    This looks so awesome. I am so excited for the consumer editions of all this amazing tech (hopefully) next-year!

  • kijutsu

    Was never interested in the Hydra but this is wireless and those “Stem pack” look very interesting! Price and latency will make or kill the product.

  • Morgan

    Yeah – the tradeoff of latency for wirelessness will hopefully be very minimal.

  • Kevin Fuller

    and of course I just bought the Hydra

  • DevinWeidinger

    I’m impressed. I wonder if it will have the tactile feedback we all saw in
    https://www.roadtovr.com/2013/04/08/tactical-haptics-reactive-grip-razer-hydra-gdc-2013-4628
    would be really cool.
    I love the wireless of it, and the new body sensor. Seeing people strap there hydras to there head or in a chest strap was kind of unrealistic for a consumer.

    I too just bought the Hydra but that 50% off deal was sick. So what if i’ve got a hydra1, my oculus dev kit will be going to my Player 2 friend along with my old hydra, while im rocking the oculus consumer version w/ this :P.

  • Karl

    Would be cool if razer made a wired “stem pack” positional tracker cheap add on for the current hydra,maybe using a splitter from the base ?,would sell bucketloads between now and whenever oculus implement their own positional tracking which i guess would make this irrelevant.