Gadgetory

there are a number of new virtual reality platforms coming this year an HTC vive is one of them it's been delayed a bit but you can see why there is new hardware and we got a chance to take a look at the vive pre the latest development hardware here at CES in Las Vegas and this is what it's all about the first thing you notice is that the headset is lighter weight it also has a front facing camera that scans the room and allows you to enter a mode called chaperone that lets you see other things in the room people furniture and navigate even while you're wearing the headset I was even able to check the time on my watch there's also new controller design both of them are lighter weight the little touch pad has been moved to the bottom and it feels more comfortable the other change has to do with lighthouse these are the light sensors that's fit in the corners of your room there are now more compact their wireless and they look a little more attractive when you put them on you can tell that everything looks clear HTC said this is because of a reduction of a mirror effect which minimizes is sort of a dirty window effect you got before basically means the fish seem clearer and the virtual offices seem crisper and poppier everything looked a lot more vivid during my two demos the blue which was an underwater aquatic simulator on the deck of a sunken pirate ship and job simulator where I tried to unsuccessfully make coffee and turn on my computer HTC intends to sell the vibe as one complete system controllers headset and room sensors that's a differentiator from other virtual reality platforms coming out in 2016