John Carmack to work on 'positional tracking', crucial technology for virtual reality

John Carmack has taken very seriously the issue of virtual reality since works for Oculus VR. Among the pioneers of the shooter in three dimensions, the guru of the gaming PC is working on technology that could make it more interesting than its Rift VR Mobile or HTC Vive. Carmack has revealed on Twitter that currently spends most of his time on "positional tracking" for Gear VR, the display of Samsung that can hold a smartphone.

The technology would allow to detect the user's position in space and perceive his every move so as to transmit it to the viewer and thus the software. Developers may use this technology within simulations that allow the player to move around inside a virtual environment as if it were in reality (furniture permitting). All thanks to the absence of cables or various typical of traditional VR restrictions on personal computers.

Unlike Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Gear VR does not need to be permanently connected to a PC. It in fact connects to a smartphone that is inserted inside it and it works as a real viewer. The technology is working Carmack is important for the dissemination of technology because it overcomes one of the limitations of Gear VR since the viewer Samsung can currently perceive only the head movements on a single axis.

Market analyst firm predicted that the segments of virtual reality and augmented reality could have a market value of $ 120 billion already by 2020. Oculus and Samsung may have a big advantage because of the positional tracking, especially if we consider the nominal price at which it is proposed Gear VR: about 120 Euros plus the cost of the purchase of the Samsung device, which is still useful for various other tasks.

The positional tracking technology already exists on HTC Vive, but the implementation of a mobile viewer opens up virtually limitless possibilities. Valve allows the viewer to walk in virtual rooms in games like Job Simulator and Budget Cuts, for an experience made even more immersive than the traditional control through joypad.

HTC Lives exploitation of positional tracking, however, is still rather cumbersome and requires some precautions, in addition to the configuration of two towers and the movement of sofas and furniture of the room. Differently, Gear VR could exploit the smartphone sensors to sense the location in the environment and cameras to see if those who play are going to collide with the obstacles present in the real world.

Leveraging the technology on which it is to Carmack work, in short, Oculus Rift and Gear VR could become at the same time virtual reality devices and augmented reality and achieve a significant advantage over more traditional proposals of direct competition.