SteamVR

SteamVR
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Information
Type	Virtual Reality
Subtype	Virtual Reality Platform
Creator	Valve Corporation
Developer	Valve Corporation
Devices	HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, VIVE Pro, VIVE Cosmos, Pimax
Accessories	SteamVR Controllers, Valve Index Controllers, VIVE Trackers, Base Stations
Release Date	April 5, 2016 (with HTC Vive)
Price	Free (platform), hardware prices vary
Website	SteamVR

SteamVR is a Virtual Reality Platform developed by Valve Corporation as an extension of the Steam digital distribution platform. SteamVR offers a 360-degree, room-scale VR experience, allowing users to fully immerse themselves in virtual environments. It was officially announced on March 1, 2015, during the Mobile World Congress. Valve partnered with HTC to release SteamVR's first device, the HTC Vive, a VR HMD similar to Oculus Rift. Unlike early Oculus implementations, SteamVR features a holodeck-like experience, allowing users to move and position themselves freely within a defined physical space.

As a platform, SteamVR supports various VR headsets beyond its own ecosystem, including Oculus devices, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and others, making it one of the most versatile and hardware-agnostic VR platforms available. This cross-compatibility has helped establish SteamVR as a central hub for VR gaming and applications.

1. 1. System Overview

SteamVR consists of several key components that work together to create a comprehensive virtual reality platform:

1. 1. 1. Runtime

The SteamVR Runtime is the core software that powers the SteamVR experience. It acts as the central background process that manages communication between VR hardware (HMDs, controllers, trackers, base stations), VR applications, and the Steam client. The runtime is responsible for tracking, rendering, device detection, pose updates, input processing, and managing the overall VR experience for users.

1. 1. 1. Compositor

The Compositor is a critical component of SteamVR responsible for taking rendered images from VR applications and displaying them correctly on the HMD. It handles essential functions including:

• Lens distortion correction
• Chromatic aberration correction
• Reprojection techniques (like Motion Smoothing) to maintain smooth visuals even when applications drop frames
• Rendering overlays such as the Chaperone boundary system and SteamVR Dashboard
• Final image compositing and presentation to the headset display

1. 1. 1. OpenVR SDK

OpenVR is an API and SDK developed by Valve that serves as the interface between VR hardware and software applications. It allows developers to create VR content that works across different VR systems without needing to develop separately for each hardware platform.

While OpenVR was initially the primary SDK for SteamVR development, Valve now also provides full support for OpenXR, an open, royalty-free standard from the Khronos Group designed to provide universal access to VR and AR hardware across platforms.

1. 1. 1. VR Dashboard

The VR Dashboard is an in-VR interface, accessible via a button press on the controller, that allows users to interact with Steam, launch applications, adjust settings, view their desktop, and manage VR sessions without removing the headset.

1. 1. 1. Tracking System

SteamVR utilizes the Lighthouse tracking system, which provides high-precision, low-latency positional tracking for VR headsets and controllers. This system enables the platform's signature room-scale VR capability.

1. 1. Devices

SteamVR supports a wide array of VR headsets, ensuring compatibility across platforms and manufacturers:

1. 1. 1. HTC Vive

The HTC Vive (also known as VCV1) was SteamVR's first commercial product. Pre-orders for the device began on February 29, 2016, with units shipping on April 5, 2016. The HTC Vive was one of the first consumer VR systems to offer room-scale VR with 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) motion tracking.

The original HTC Vive features:

• Dual OLED displays with a combined resolution of 2160×1200 (1080×1200 per eye)
• 90 Hz refresh rate
• 110-degree field of view
• Integrated microphone and audio output
• Front-facing camera for mixed reality applications
• SteamVR tracking 1.0 via external base stations

1. 1. 1. HTC Vive Developer Editions

HTC Vive DK1 (or VDK1) was SteamVR's first development kit. This HMD was a partnership between Valve and HTC. It was announced on March 1, 2015, and showcased during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2015 between March 2-6. When paired with two SteamVR Base Stations and two SteamVR Controllers, the HTC Vive DK1 could accurately track the position and movements of the user's head and hands within a 15 by 15 feet space.

HTC Vive Pre (or VDK2) was SteamVR's second development kit. It improved upon the VDK1 in many areas, including the implementation of a pass-through camera on the HMD. 7,000 units were shipped to select developers in January and February 2016.

1. 1. 1. Valve Index

The Valve Index is a high-end VR headset released by Valve on June 28, 2019. It represents Valve's first self-branded VR hardware and incorporates several technological advancements over previous SteamVR-compatible headsets.

Key features of the Valve Index include:

• Dual LCD displays with a combined resolution of 2880×1600 (1440×1600 per eye)
• Adjustable refresh rate (80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and experimental 144Hz modes)
• Wider 130-degree field of view
• Reduced pixel persistence for clearer images during motion
• Off-ear audio speakers for improved audio immersion
• Advanced controllers (known as "Knuckles" during development) with individual finger tracking
• Compatibility with existing SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 base stations

1. 1. 1. HTC Vive Pro

The HTC Vive Pro is an upgraded version of the original HTC Vive, released on April 5, 2018. It offers several improvements over its predecessor, including higher resolution displays, integrated headphones with 3D spatial audio, and a more comfortable design.

Key features include:

• Dual AMOLED displays with a combined resolution of 2880×1600 (1440×1600 per eye)
• 90 Hz refresh rate
• 110-degree field of view
• Built-in headphones with spatial audio
• Dual front-facing cameras for enhanced mixed reality
• Improved ergonomics with better weight distribution

1. 1. 1. HTC Vive Cosmos

The HTC Vive Cosmos was released on October 3, 2019, as a successor to the original Vive. Unlike previous HTC VR headsets, the Cosmos utilizes inside-out tracking through cameras on the headset itself, rather than requiring external base stations.

Key features include:

• LCD display with a resolution of 2880×1700
• 90 Hz refresh rate
• Six tracking cameras for inside-out tracking
• Flip-up visor design for easy transitioning between virtual and real worlds
• Modular faceplate for potential upgrades and customization

1. 1. 1. Other Compatible Headsets

SteamVR supports a wide range of VR headsets beyond those developed specifically for the platform:

• Meta Quest Series (formerly Oculus Quest) - Supported via Oculus Link, Air Link, or third-party solutions like Virtual Desktop, allowing the standalone Quest headsets to run PC VR content via SteamVR.

• Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S - Full support through the Oculus SDK and SteamVR integration, leveraging the Oculus runtime.

• Windows Mixed Reality headsets - Including devices from HP, Samsung, Acer, and others, supported via the "Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR" software bridge available on Steam.

• Pimax VR headsets - Wide FOV headsets compatible with SteamVR tracking.

• Varjo - Professional-grade VR headsets used in enterprise and simulation applications.

1. 1. Accessories

1. 1. 1. Tracking

Base Stations are part of the Lighthouse tracking system of SteamVR. These small, rectangular objects are placed in the opposite corners of the room, near the ceiling. They serve as reference points that enable the positional tracking of your HMD and SteamVR controllers within the 3D space. The Base Stations enable Lighthouse to track your head and hands with accuracy, low latency and sub-millimeter precision within a specified space (currently about 15 by 15 feet).

There are two generations of SteamVR Base Stations:

• Lighthouse 1.0 (launched with the original HTC Vive) - Requires two base stations with direct line of sight to each other, supporting a maximum play area of approximately 5 meters diagonally.
• Lighthouse 2.0 (launched with Vive Pro and Valve Index) - Supports up to four base stations for larger play areas (up to 10m x 10m with four stations) and better occlusion handling. Base Station 2.0 units are only compatible with hardware featuring SteamVR Tracking 2.0 sensors (like Valve Index, Vive Pro series, Vive Controllers 2.0, Vive Trackers 2018/3.0).

The technical operation of Lighthouse involves base stations emitting timed infrared laser sweeps and flashes across the play area. The headset and controllers are covered with photodiode sensors that detect these signals. By timing how long it takes for the laser sweeps to hit each sensor, the system can calculate the precise position and orientation of the devices with sub-millimeter accuracy.

1. 1. 1. Input Devices

SteamVR Controllers (often called Vive Wands) are the original motion controllers that shipped with the HTC Vive. These wireless controllers look like a pair of wands with sensors on top. Each hand holds one of the two wireless controllers. Each controller has a trigger and circular haptic trackpad. The sensors allow the controllers to be tracked by the SteamVR Base Stations in the same way as the HMD. The controllers are tracked with very high precision and low latency.

The sensors on the controllers are photodiodes that work with the Lighthouse tracking system to determine their precise position and orientation in 3D space.

Valve Index Controllers (previously known as Knuckles during development) are advanced VR controllers developed by Valve for use with SteamVR. Released alongside the Valve Index headset in 2019, these controllers feature:

• Individual finger tracking via capacitive sensors
• Pressure-sensitive grips for natural grabbing motions
• Traditional buttons, triggers, and thumbsticks
• The ability to release the controller completely while still having it attached to the hand via adjustable straps
• Compatibility with any SteamVR-tracked headset

VIVE Trackers are puck-shaped devices that can be attached to physical objects to track them in VR. They use the same Lighthouse tracking technology as the headsets and controllers, allowing developers and users to bring real-world objects into the virtual space. Common applications include:

• Full-body tracking (by attaching trackers to the feet and waist)
• Prop tracking for simulators (such as racing wheels or sports equipment)
• Motion capture for animation
• Integration of specialized controllers for specific applications

1. 1. Apps

1. 1. 1. SteamVR Home

SteamVR Home is a customizable virtual environment that serves as the default starting point for SteamVR users. It features:

• Customizable environments and avatars
• Social features allowing users to visit friends' spaces
• Mini-games and interactive elements
• SteamVR Collectibles that can be earned through achievements in VR games or purchased through the Steam marketplace

1. 1. 1. Notable SteamVR Applications

Some of the most popular and influential applications on the SteamVR platform include:

• Half-Life: Alyx - Valve's flagship VR game set in the Half-Life universe
• Beat Saber - A rhythm game where players slice blocks with virtual lightsabers
• VRChat - A social VR platform allowing users to interact with others using custom avatars
• SUPERHOT VR - A unique time-manipulation shooter
• The Lab - Valve's collection of VR experiments and mini-games
• Job Simulator - A humorous simulation game that was a launch title for the HTC Vive
• Tilt Brush - A 3D painting application for creating art in virtual space

1. 1. Developer Tools

1. 1. 1. OpenVR API

OpenVR API is the programming interface that allows developers to integrate SteamVR support into their applications. It provides access to tracking data, input from controllers, display output, and other VR-specific features. While still supported, Valve is encouraging developers to transition to OpenXR.

1. 1. 1. OpenXR Support

SteamVR is a fully compliant OpenXR runtime. OpenXR is an open, royalty-free standard from the Khronos Group designed to provide universal access to VR and AR hardware and software platforms. Developing with OpenXR allows applications to run across different VR runtimes (like SteamVR, Oculus, WMR) with less porting effort. Valve actively supports and contributes to OpenXR development.

1. 1. 1. SteamVR Unity Plugin

The SteamVR Unity Plugin provides tools and components for developing VR applications in the Unity game engine. It includes prefabs for common VR interactions, a camera rig for proper VR rendering, input handling for controllers, and integration with OpenVR.

1. 1. 1. SteamVR Input System

The SteamVR Input System allows developers to define actions rather than specific button mappings, making it easier to support multiple controller types. It also gives users the ability to customize control schemes to their preference, improving accessibility.

1. 1. 1. SteamVR Skeletal Input

SteamVR Skeletal Input provides access to hand pose data for more natural interactions in VR applications, enabling developers to implement realistic hand animations and gestures.

1. 1. 1. Steam Workshop

The Steam Workshop integration allows users and developers to share custom home environments, props, avatar skins, and controller bindings, fostering a creative community around SteamVR Home.

1. 1. Technology

1. 1. 1. Positional Tracking

Lighthouse is a laser-based positional tracking system developed by Valve for SteamVR. It tracks the position and orientation of the user's HMD and controllers in real time. It was developed by Alan Yates, a Valve engineer, and represents one of the most accurate consumer-grade tracking systems available.

1. 1. 1. Chaperone

Chaperone is a system that helps to prevent users from bumping into physical objects or moving outside of the sensor range while using the HMD. The system differentiates soft and hard boundaries. Soft boundaries are the space designated for the specific app or detectable by the sensors while hard boundaries consist of physical walls, obstacles and objects.

When you move near the edge of the "holodeck", virtual grid walls would appear in your display. These walls indicate that you are at the boundary of the sensors or near physical walls of your room. The walls would disappear when you move away from the boundary.

The Chaperone system can be customized through the SteamVR settings, allowing users to adjust:

• The color and opacity of the boundary grid
• The activation distance (how close to the boundary the grid appears)
• Floor boundary visibility
• Camera passthrough integration for seeing the real world when near boundaries

1. 1. 1. Rendering

SteamVR uses several advanced rendering techniques to ensure smooth, low-latency visuals:

Asynchronous Reprojection is a technique that helps maintain frame rate in demanding VR applications. When an application cannot render at the target frame rate (typically 90Hz), asynchronous reprojection generates intermediate frames based on head movement to smooth out the experience.

Motion Smoothing is an advanced version of reprojection introduced in later SteamVR updates. It uses motion vectors to create more accurate intermediate frames, resulting in smoother motion during performance dips. When Motion Smoothing is active, the application renders at half frame rate (e.g., 45 FPS for a 90Hz display), and SteamVR synthesizes every other frame based on motion estimation from previous frames.

1. 1. 1. Direct Mode

Direct Mode optimizes the display pipeline by treating the HMD as a dedicated monitor, reducing latency and improving compatibility. This allows the display driver to render directly to the HMD, bypassing OS-level compositor latency.

1. 1. 1. Supersampling

Supersampling allows rendering at higher resolutions for improved image quality on capable hardware. Users can adjust this setting globally or per application based on their GPU performance.

1. 1. Features

Dashboard is the Steam overlay for VR Apps. It provides access to friends lists, the Steam store, system settings, and application switching without removing the headset. The Dashboard appears as a virtual panel that users can interact with using their controllers.

SteamVR Desktop Theater Mode allows users to play non-VR Steam games in VR on a large virtual home theater screen. This feature makes the entire Steam library accessible in VR, even if the games themselves weren't designed for virtual reality.

SteamVR Home serves as both a customizable virtual environment and a social hub for SteamVR users. Users can collect and display SteamVR Collectibles earned through achievements in VR games or purchased through the Steam marketplace.

SteamVR Media Player enables users to view videos and images in VR, with support for 360-degree and 3D content.

Advanced Camera Settings on compatible headsets provide options for passthrough camera functionality, including reality overlay modes that blend the virtual and real worlds for mixed reality experiences.

Steam Link for VR - Official Wi-Fi streaming app (Quest 2/3/Pro) released November 2023, allowing wireless streaming of SteamVR content to Meta Quest devices.

1. 1. History

March 1, 2015 - SteamVR and HTC Vive were officially announced on March 1, 2015 in World Mobile Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

March 2 - 6, 2015 - SteamVR and HTC Vive were showcased first time to the public at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

April 21, 2015 - Sign-ups for the Developer Edition of HTC Vive began.

April 30, 2015 - OpenVR SDK was released, allowing developers to begin creating content for SteamVR.

June 5, 2015 - HTC Vive Developer Editions (HTC Vive DK1) began shipping to developers selected by Valve.

January 5, 2016 - HTC Vive Pre (HTC Vive DK2) was announced at CES 2016. 7000 of the HMD will ship to select developers in Q1 2016.

February 11, 2016 - SteamVR introduces Direct Mode, allows the display driver to render to the HMD directly, improving performance and reducing latency.

February 29, 2016 - HTC Vive CV1 pre-orders begin.

April 5, 2016 - HTC Vive CV1 is officially released to consumers.

June 17 2016 - SteamVR supports Oculus Touch controllers, dual Constellation sensors and Room-scale VR with Oculus Rift.

November 9, 2016 - The SteamVR Developer Hardware Grant Program was announced, providing free VR hardware to qualified developers.

June 9, 2017 - Valve announced the development of new SteamVR Tracking 2.0 base stations with improved capabilities and support for larger play areas.

April 5, 2018 - HTC Vive Pro was released, offering higher resolution displays and improved ergonomics.

April 30, 2019 - Valve announced the Valve Index, its own SteamVR headset and controllers.

June 28, 2019 - Valve Index began shipping to customers.

October 3, 2019 - HTC released the Vive Cosmos, featuring inside-out tracking without the need for external base stations.

March 23, 2020 - Valve released Half-Life: Alyx, a flagship VR game designed specifically for SteamVR, showcasing the platform's capabilities.

May 1, 2020 - SteamVR ended support for macOS.

December 16, 2021 - SteamVR introduced OpenXR support, allowing developers to build applications that work across multiple VR platforms with minimal changes.

October 25, 2023 - SteamVR 2.0 public release, unifying UI with Steam Deck.

November 30, 2023 - Valve released Steam Link for Meta Quest, enabling official wireless streaming.

1. 1. Competitors

SteamVR competes with several other VR platforms in the market:

Oculus Platform (now Meta Quest Platform) - Developed by Facebook (now Meta), the Oculus platform is SteamVR's primary competitor. It offers its own store, SDK, and exclusive content for Oculus devices.

Windows Mixed Reality - Microsoft's VR/AR platform integrates with Windows 10 and offers its own portal for VR content, though many WMR headsets are also compatible with SteamVR.

PlayStation VR - Sony's VR platform for PlayStation consoles operates in a closed ecosystem with exclusive titles.

VIVEPORT - While compatible with SteamVR, HTC's VIVEPORT is a separate store and subscription service for VR content.

1. 1. References