The Tech that's Saving VR - Inside-out Tracking

**The Rise of Markerless Inside-Out Tracking in Virtual Reality: A Comprehensive Guide**

**Introduction to Virtual Reality and Its Challenges**

Virtual reality (VR) technology once enjoyed immense popularity, reaching hype levels that exceeded 9,000 just a few years ago. However, much of the excitement faded as users encountered significant challenges such as discomfort due to restrictive cables and high entry costs. These issues made VR less accessible and less appealing to the average user.

**The Emergence of Markerless Inside-Out Tracking**

In response to these challenges, markerless inside-out tracking emerged as a promising solution. This technology aims to create a more affordable, convenient, and wireless VR experience without compromising on quality. Initially, devices like the Windows Mixed Reality headsets and Lenovo's Mirage Solo utilized this technology, but it was not widely adopted by premium brands such as HTC, Oculus, or Sony. However, recent advancements have led major players like Oculus (with their Quest and Rift S headsets) and HTC (via the Vive Cosmos) to incorporate markerless inside-out tracking, signaling a shift towards mainstream adoption.

**Understanding Inside-Out Tracking**

Inside-out tracking refers to the method by which a head-mounted display (HMD) tracks its position in three-dimensional space. Unlike traditional outside-in tracking, which relies on external sensors or cameras, inside-out tracking embeds all necessary sensors within the headset itself. This eliminates the need for cumbersome external setups, making VR experiences more accessible and less intrusive.

**The Role of SLAM Technology**

At the core of markerless inside-out tracking lies SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology. SLAM enables the HMD to create and continuously update a map of its environment while simultaneously determining its location within that space. By utilizing sensors like cameras, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, the device processes data to generate a 3D map of the surroundings. Originally developed for applications in robotics and autonomous vehicles, SLAM has found a niche in VR gaming, enhancing immersion without requiring external infrastructure.

**Benefits of Markerless Inside-Out Tracking**

The adoption of markerless inside-out tracking offers several advantages:

1. **Simplicity and Affordability**: Eliminating external sensors reduces setup complexity and cost, making VR more accessible.

2. **Wireless Convenience**: The embedded sensors allow for wireless operation, freeing users from tangled cables.

3. **Enhanced Accessibility**: Users can enjoy VR without the need for dedicated spaces or extensive setups.

**Drawbacks and Challenges**

Despite its benefits, markerless inside-out tracking faces some limitations:

1. **Lower Refresh Rates**: Devices like the Mirage Solo and Oculus Quest feature refresh rates in the mid-70 Hz, which may cause simulation sickness in sensitive users.

2. **Occlusion Issues**: Sensors can be obstructed by hands or objects, leading to tracking inaccuracies.

3. **Outdoor Limitations**: Sunlight interference affects sensor performance, restricting outdoor use.

4. **Performance Trade-offs**: Running on mobile hardware necessitates compromises in visual fidelity and immersion compared to premium PC-based systems.

**Future Prospects and Innovations**

Despite these challenges, advancements in processing power, sensor technology, and software optimization promise to mitigate many issues. Techniques like foveated rendering could enhance game performance on less powerful hardware, while improvements in SLAM technology will likely reduce tracking errors and latency.

**FreshBooks: Simplifying Business Management**

In a departure from the technical discussion, FreshBooks cloud accounting offers a user-friendly solution for small business owners and freelancers. Its mobile app allows invoice creation, receipt management, and real-time client updates, streamlining business operations. Start your 30-day free trial at [freshbooks.com/techwiki](https://www.freshbooks.com/techwiki).

**Conclusion**

Markerless inside-out tracking represents a significant leap forward in VR technology, addressing many of the issues that hindered its adoption. While challenges remain, ongoing advancements promise to make VR more accessible and immersive. As this technology evolves, it brings us closer to realizing truly mainstream virtual reality experiences.

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This article provides an in-depth exploration of markerless inside-out tracking, detailing its benefits, drawbacks, and future potential while also introducing complementary services like FreshBooks.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: envirtual reality enjoyed hype levels over 9 000 just a few short years ago only to have a lot of the fanfare die down shortly thereafter and justifiably so a lot of people had understandable misgivings about things like comfort cables and the cost of entry if only there was a technology that would make it possible to create a cheap easy and wireless platform that provides all the benefits of enthusiast grade vr without the drawbacks well that is exactly what markerless inside out tracking promises to provide now although it's true that devices like the windows mixed reality headsets and lenovo's mirage solo have used markerless inside out tracking for a while they've never achieved the status of the more premium offerings from companies like htc oculus or sony fortunately for vr lovers things are changing as late model headsets with this technology like the oculus quest and oculus rift s have almost completely closed the gap and htc revealed at ces this year that the vive cosmos will be taking advantage of markerless inside out tracking as well so it's safe to say then that the heavyweights have entered the ring but what exactly is inside out tracking and specifically markerless inside out tracking and why is everybody jumping on the bandwagon well put simply inside out tracking is a way to track the position of a head-mounted display or hmd in three-dimensional space up until recently the biggest six degrees of freedom vr platforms the rift and the psvr have been using either inside out tracking with markers or even the opposite approach outside in tracking which uses external sensors or cameras to determine where the headset is located and while these methods are very accurate and some with very minimal latency they're not without problems so the sensor towers require line of sight with the hmd and controllers at all times meaning that if you don't have a clear play space or you haven't set up the sensors properly they could get occluded and lose tracking and what's more setup can be a total hassle if you don't have a dedicated vr area where you can just set it and forget it you got to push away your furniture mount your sensors define your play space and finally step into the virtual world but even if you have plenty of space and you don't mind the setup time you will still need external sensors and either a playstation 4 or a vr capable pc each of which drive up the cost of entry markerless inside out tracking on the other hand has all of the required sensors embedded within the headset itself allowing the hmd to track its own position resulting in a simpler quicker and generally cheaper way to get immersed in vr so it sounds great right but how does all this inside out trickery work the answer of course is slam tech i'm serious actually it's called slam technology you see slam stands for simultaneous localization and mapping which describes the problem that the head mounted display has to solve that is creating and constantly updating a map of the environment that it's in while simultaneously tracking its own location within that map it does this by using a combination of physical sensors like cameras accelerometers and gyroscopes to continuously detect information about itself and the world around it this data is then passed over to the software that's responsible for processing it and generating a 3d mapping of the environment now while solutions to slam were originally developed for other applications like robotics and self-driving cars it's now being used for hardcore vr gaming like who cares about the advancements of collective human knowledge when you could be playing but it's no guarantee that super hot or any vr experience for that matter will be better with inside out tracking like i said before the reason that anyone would care about all of this at all is if they want a cheap easy and wireless vr platform that has all or almost all of the benefits of an enthusiast great experience the issue here is that in order to make it wireless everything has to run on mobile hardware so if you're a member of the glorious pc gaming master race or even an ordinary ps4 gamer vr games running on mobile hardware is going to be a step down for both of you in terms of both fidelity and immersion plus both the mirage solo and oculus quest feature piddly refresh rates in the mid 70 hertz with the rift s at 80 hertz the original vive at 90 and the valve index at a whopping 120 hertz or even 144 in its experimental mode so if you suffer from simulation sickness at reduced refresh rates you might not want to buy into the markerless inside out type just yet making matters worse occlusion is still a problem when it comes to inside out tracking the difference here is that instead of stuff getting between the sensors and the headset inside out occlusion happens when the sensors on the hmd get blocked for example you might be aiming down the sights of a rifle with one of your hands right up against your headset or if you simply look away from the controllers or put them behind you to grab an arrow out of your quiver the controller will try to continue tracking based on their last known position but it might be with lower resolution data so the longer the disruption the more out of sync with reality things can become plus the image processing that's done on captured footage while impressive isn't perfect and inside out tracking doesn't really work outdoors because sunlight can interfere with the sensors these issues though do not amount to a death sentence for inside out tracking as processing power sensor performance and slam tech continue to improve we'll see a lot of these early problems become less and less pervasive and there's also room for software to make more efficient use of the processing power that we have using still in development techniques like foveated rendering to get heavier games running on lighter hardware so with all that in mind there is still absolutely hope for vr to go truly mainstream once they make headsets that don't make you look like an idiot speaking of mainstream freshbooks cloud accounting is a fantastic solution if you're a mainstream type like uh like a small business owner or a freelancer freshbooks works from anywhere and with the freshbooks mobile app you can create professional looking invoices on the go you can snap pictures of your receipts so you don't lose them you can stay on top of important conversations and you'll never miss an update for example you can see when a client has viewed their invoice or when an invoice has become overdue so start your 30-day free trial right now at freshbooks.com forward slash techwiki we're going to have that linked below so thanks for watching guys like dislike check out our other videos and don't forget to subscribevirtual reality enjoyed hype levels over 9 000 just a few short years ago only to have a lot of the fanfare die down shortly thereafter and justifiably so a lot of people had understandable misgivings about things like comfort cables and the cost of entry if only there was a technology that would make it possible to create a cheap easy and wireless platform that provides all the benefits of enthusiast grade vr without the drawbacks well that is exactly what markerless inside out tracking promises to provide now although it's true that devices like the windows mixed reality headsets and lenovo's mirage solo have used markerless inside out tracking for a while they've never achieved the status of the more premium offerings from companies like htc oculus or sony fortunately for vr lovers things are changing as late model headsets with this technology like the oculus quest and oculus rift s have almost completely closed the gap and htc revealed at ces this year that the vive cosmos will be taking advantage of markerless inside out tracking as well so it's safe to say then that the heavyweights have entered the ring but what exactly is inside out tracking and specifically markerless inside out tracking and why is everybody jumping on the bandwagon well put simply inside out tracking is a way to track the position of a head-mounted display or hmd in three-dimensional space up until recently the biggest six degrees of freedom vr platforms the rift and the psvr have been using either inside out tracking with markers or even the opposite approach outside in tracking which uses external sensors or cameras to determine where the headset is located and while these methods are very accurate and some with very minimal latency they're not without problems so the sensor towers require line of sight with the hmd and controllers at all times meaning that if you don't have a clear play space or you haven't set up the sensors properly they could get occluded and lose tracking and what's more setup can be a total hassle if you don't have a dedicated vr area where you can just set it and forget it you got to push away your furniture mount your sensors define your play space and finally step into the virtual world but even if you have plenty of space and you don't mind the setup time you will still need external sensors and either a playstation 4 or a vr capable pc each of which drive up the cost of entry markerless inside out tracking on the other hand has all of the required sensors embedded within the headset itself allowing the hmd to track its own position resulting in a simpler quicker and generally cheaper way to get immersed in vr so it sounds great right but how does all this inside out trickery work the answer of course is slam tech i'm serious actually it's called slam technology you see slam stands for simultaneous localization and mapping which describes the problem that the head mounted display has to solve that is creating and constantly updating a map of the environment that it's in while simultaneously tracking its own location within that map it does this by using a combination of physical sensors like cameras accelerometers and gyroscopes to continuously detect information about itself and the world around it this data is then passed over to the software that's responsible for processing it and generating a 3d mapping of the environment now while solutions to slam were originally developed for other applications like robotics and self-driving cars it's now being used for hardcore vr gaming like who cares about the advancements of collective human knowledge when you could be playing but it's no guarantee that super hot or any vr experience for that matter will be better with inside out tracking like i said before the reason that anyone would care about all of this at all is if they want a cheap easy and wireless vr platform that has all or almost all of the benefits of an enthusiast great experience the issue here is that in order to make it wireless everything has to run on mobile hardware so if you're a member of the glorious pc gaming master race or even an ordinary ps4 gamer vr games running on mobile hardware is going to be a step down for both of you in terms of both fidelity and immersion plus both the mirage solo and oculus quest feature piddly refresh rates in the mid 70 hertz with the rift s at 80 hertz the original vive at 90 and the valve index at a whopping 120 hertz or even 144 in its experimental mode so if you suffer from simulation sickness at reduced refresh rates you might not want to buy into the markerless inside out type just yet making matters worse occlusion is still a problem when it comes to inside out tracking the difference here is that instead of stuff getting between the sensors and the headset inside out occlusion happens when the sensors on the hmd get blocked for example you might be aiming down the sights of a rifle with one of your hands right up against your headset or if you simply look away from the controllers or put them behind you to grab an arrow out of your quiver the controller will try to continue tracking based on their last known position but it might be with lower resolution data so the longer the disruption the more out of sync with reality things can become plus the image processing that's done on captured footage while impressive isn't perfect and inside out tracking doesn't really work outdoors because sunlight can interfere with the sensors these issues though do not amount to a death sentence for inside out tracking as processing power sensor performance and slam tech continue to improve we'll see a lot of these early problems become less and less pervasive and there's also room for software to make more efficient use of the processing power that we have using still in development techniques like foveated rendering to get heavier games running on lighter hardware so with all that in mind there is still absolutely hope for vr to go truly mainstream once they make headsets that don't make you look like an idiot speaking of mainstream freshbooks cloud accounting is a fantastic solution if you're a mainstream type like uh like a small business owner or a freelancer freshbooks works from anywhere and with the freshbooks mobile app you can create professional looking invoices on the go you can snap pictures of your receipts so you don't lose them you can stay on top of important conversations and you'll never miss an update for example you can see when a client has viewed their invoice or when an invoice has become overdue so start your 30-day free trial right now at freshbooks.com forward slash techwiki we're going to have that linked below so thanks for watching guys like dislike check out our other videos and don't forget to subscribe\n"