Virtual reality is still in its infancy, and as such it is sure to have some problems. One of these problems is the fact that many experience motion sickness while using virtual reality.
Valve, however, claims that the motion sickness problem has been solved, saying that no one at all reported motion sickness while using its new virtual reality headset.
Part of Valve's new virtual reality system, called the Vive, is a motion tracking system that the company calls Lighthouse, which essentially tracks users as they move around within a space. It uses a whopping 70 motion sensors to map the 360-degree movement of a user in the real world, applying those movements to the virtual world.
Lighthouse was able to very precisely map out the user's movement, which is partly to thank for the fact that the Vive does not induce motion sickness.
The Vive itself features a 1,200 x 1,800 pixel display in front of each eye, with a frame rate of 90 frames per second. The company plans to release a developer kit for the headset later this year, with a consumer version of the device expected by mid-2016.
Smartphone manufacturer HTC, who worked in collaboration with Valve to create the new device, announced the Vive in competition with the Oculus Rift, likely the most highly-anticipated virtual reality headset to date.
Oculus VR itself was bought by Facebook for a massive $2 billion last year, with much speculation as to what the social media giant could want with a virtual reality startup.
The news of Vive's innovation comes shortly after Oculus executive John Carmack, chief technology officer at Oculus VR, voiced his concerns of motion sickness in virtual reality, especially when it comes to the Oculus Rift.
"People like the demo, they take it home, and they start throwing up," said Carmack to a group of developers. "The fear is if a really bad VR product comes out, it could send the industry back to the '90s."
Along with the headset, Valve also announced the new Source 2 engine as well as a streaming service called Steam Link. This service allows users to broadcast games from PC, Mac, and Linux as well as the new Steam Machine. It will also support gaming at 1080p and at 60Hz, and will be available starting November for $49.99.
A number of other virtual reality products have been released over the past few months, namely from the likes of Sony and LG. Google has also entered the space, offering Google Cardboard, which allows users to insert their smartphone into a headset, acting as a display.
