HTC Vive Wrist Tracker

HTC Vive Wrist Tracker
Basic Info
VR/AR	Virtual Reality
Type	VR Tracker
Subtype	Inside-out wrist tracker
Platform	HTC Vive Focus 3, HTC Vive XR Elite, HTC Vive Focus Vision
Creator	HTC
Developer	HTC
Manufacturer	HTC
Announcement Date	January 2022 (CES 2022)
Release Date	2022
Price	$129 / €129 / £119
Website	https://www.vive.com/us/accessory/vive-wrist-tracker/
Versions	HTC Vive Wrist Tracker
Requires	Compatible Vive Focus 3, XR Elite or Focus Vision headset
System
Operating System	N/A
Chipset	N/A
CPU	N/A
GPU	N/A
Storage
Storage	N/A
Memory	N/A
SD Card Slot	No
Display
Display	N/A
Resolution	N/A
Refresh Rate	N/A
Image
Field of View	N/A
Horizontal FoV	N/A
Vertical FoV	N/A
Optics
Optics	N/A
Ocularity	N/A
IPD Range	N/A
Adjustable Diopter	N/A
Passthrough	N/A
Tracking
Tracking	Inside-out optical (LEDs read by headset cameras) plus onboard IMU
Base Stations	Not required
Eye Tracking	N/A
Face Tracking	N/A
Hand Tracking	Augments headset hand tracking
Body Tracking	Upper-limb (fingertips to elbow)
Rotational Tracking	Yes
Positional Tracking	Yes
Audio
Audio	N/A
Microphone	N/A
Camera	N/A
Connectivity
Connectivity	Wireless (Bluetooth)
Ports	USB Type-C (charging)
WiFi	N/A
Bluetooth	Yes
Power	Rechargeable battery
Battery Life	Up to 4 hours
Device
Weight	63 g
Material	Plastic body with removable strap
Headstrap	N/A
Color	Black
Sensors	Infrared LEDs, IMU (gyroscope/accelerometer)
Input	One-button pairing

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The HTC Vive Wrist Tracker (marketed as the VIVE Wrist Tracker) is a wrist-worn motion tracker developed by HTC for its standalone virtual reality headsets. It was announced at CES 2022 in January 2022 as the first inside-out tracker designed for the HTC Vive Focus 3, and it launched in early 2022 priced at $129 (€129 / £119). Rather than relying on external base stations like HTC's earlier Vive Tracker, the Wrist Tracker hooks into the headset's own inside-out tracking system: a set of infrared LEDs on the device is read optically by the headset's onboard cameras, while an inbuilt inertial measurement unit (IMU) supplies orientation data and predicts position when the device leaves the cameras' view. Worn on the wrist like a watch or strapped to a physical object, it lets the Focus 3 cameras follow the arm from the fingertips to the elbow, improving hand and avatar tracking in situations where the hands are occluded or outside the headset's field of view. HTC later extended compatibility to the HTC Vive XR Elite (2023) and the HTC Vive Focus Vision.

Background

HTC's original Vive Tracker, introduced in 2017, was a puck-shaped accessory that relied on the SteamVR Tracking (Lighthouse) system and external base stations to add tracked objects and body parts to PC VR setups. With the move to standalone headsets such as the Vive Focus 3, which use inside-out camera tracking rather than base stations, that approach no longer applied. The Wrist Tracker was created to bring comparable object and limb tracking to the standalone ecosystem by piggybacking on the headset's existing cameras instead of dedicated tracking hardware.

The device was unveiled at CES 2022 alongside other Focus 3 accessories, including a charging case with auto-pairing and a multi-battery charger able to top up several batteries at once. HTC positioned the Wrist Tracker primarily at enterprise and professional users, citing scenarios such as training, location-based entertainment and exercise where the hands frequently move out of the headset's line of sight.

Design and hardware

The Wrist Tracker is a compact, lightweight unit that HTC describes as 85% smaller and 50% lighter than a Vive Focus 3 controller, weighing roughly 63 grams (about the weight of a smartwatch). It ships with a removable, cleanable strap that lets it be worn on either wrist, and the same mounting can be used to fix the tracker to handheld props and tools. The body carries the infrared LED array used for optical tracking and an internal IMU. Connectivity is wireless over Bluetooth, with a single-button pairing process for quick setup, and the integrated rechargeable battery is rated for up to four hours of continuous use and charges over USB-C.

Tracking and use

Because the Wrist Tracker is read by the headset's cameras, its LEDs function much like the LEDs on a Vive Focus 3 controller, providing reference points that the system uses to compute the device's position in 3D space. When the tracker or a user's hands fall outside the cameras' view (for example when one hand occludes a handheld object), the onboard IMU and kinematic modelling are used to estimate position so tracking continues, delivering data along the arm from the fingertips to the elbow.

Two main usage modes are supported. Worn on the wrist, it augments the headset's hand tracking and can drive more natural upper-body movement for an avatar; it can be used together with the standard controllers or in their place. Attached to a real object, it makes that object trackable in VR. HTC and coverage of the device highlighted props such as mock firearms, ping-pong paddles, steering wheels, tools and firefighting hoses, with applications spanning sports, simulation training and location-based gaming. Reporting noted that pairing a wrist-worn tracker with a separate 3DoF object could effectively raise that object to full 6DoF positional tracking within the headset's space.

The device's enterprise focus was reflected in named partner use cases, including training tools from Axon and emergency-response simulations from FLAIM.

Compatibility

Headset	Notes
HTC Vive Focus 3	Launch platform; first inside-out tracker for the Focus 3 (2022)
HTC Vive XR Elite	Added as a supported accessory after the XR Elite's 2023 release
HTC Vive Focus Vision	Listed as compatible on HTC's product page

All supported headsets use HTC's camera-based inside-out tracking, which the Wrist Tracker relies on rather than SteamVR base stations.

Specifications

Specification	Detail
Type	Wrist-worn inside-out VR tracker
Tracking	Infrared LEDs read by headset cameras, plus onboard IMU
Connectivity	Wireless (Bluetooth), one-button pairing
Battery life	Up to 4 hours
Charging	USB-C
Weight	About 63 g (85% smaller, 50% lighter than a Focus 3 controller)
Strap	Removable and cleanable
Compatible headsets	Vive Focus 3, Vive XR Elite, Vive Focus Vision
Announced	CES 2022 (January 2022)
Price	$129 / €129 / £119

See also

• HTC
• Vive Tracker
• HTC Vive Focus 3
• HTC Vive XR Elite
• Inside-out tracking
• Hand tracking