HTC Vive launches VIVERSE for Business and announces XR ecosystem updates at MWC

On February 27, 2023

HTC Vive, a leading provider of virtual reality (VR) products and platforms, has today announced from Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona its new ‘VIVERSE for Business’ solution, designed to support businesses in getting the most out of immersive technology. According to the company, VIVERSE for Business offers an easy and intuitive way for organisations to build their collaborative virtual spaces.

In addition to the VIVERSE for Business announcement, HTC Vive is also releasing updates on VIVE XR Elite for Business, a new mixed reality (MR) face gasket for its VIVE XR Elite headset, a new G REIGNS private 5G networking solution, updates to VIVE Mars CamTrack, and more.

“This year at MWC, we are pushing the limits across the entire XR ecosystem with leading products for creation, delivery and engagement, while maintaining our privacy-by-design approach,” said Cher Wang, Co-Founder and Chairwoman of HTC Corp. “Expanding VIVERSE for enterprise partners, enhancing mixed reality for consumers, providing premium private 5G solutions and so much more, HTC is demonstrating the breadth and depth of our innovation across the building block technologies that have always underpinned our VIVERSE vision.”

HTC Vive is highlighting its XR ecosystem at MWC this week, with the company showing off a range of demos and products for attendees, including:

VIVERSE for Business

HTC Vive is now offering ‘platform-as-a-service’ features with the launch of VIVERSE for Business, which the company stated will enable organisations to build their own immersive virtual spaces and easily add branding. Business users can choose from pre-made building blocks, allowing for easy, modular designs covering everything from avatar design and communication functions, through to the look and feel of the space itself, according to HTC Vive.

At launch, modules will include; Common Spaces, Reception Space, Showroom Space, Team Space, Meeting Space, and Auditorium Space, to choose and build from. The VIVERSE for Business platform is built to be accessed by employees and customers on a range of devices, including; smartphone, tablet, desktop PC, laptop PC, or XR device.

VIVE XR Elite mixed reality face gasket

The new VIVE XR Elite MR face gasket is designed to make mixed reality more immersive and intuitive, giving users the ability to see their surroundings, enhanced with virtual overlays. The new MR face gasket preserves comfort and makes XR tasks easier because users can maintain situational awareness, and more seamlessly use real-world equipment, according to the company. The new mixed reality face gasket is available from vive.com in Q2.

HTC Vive added that it is actively working with a wide range of developers to build out a strong Business app ecosystem that utilises the MR passthrough capabilities of the company’s VIVE XR Elite headset (which was announced at CES earlier this year).

VIVE Mars CamTrack

Launched in 2022, the VIVE Mars CamTrack camera tracking solution offers a compact, plug-and-play, and affordable virtual production solution. At MWC, attendees will be able to jump into virtual scenes from VIVERSE and VIVE Originals – BEATDAY, demonstrating how professional virtual production shoots can be accomplished with VIVE Mars CamTrack. The company is also launching today a special offer for users in Europe and North America to save 10% overall when buying both VIVE Mars CamTrack and Aximmetry Broadcast DE Edition.

VIVE Originals – BEATDAY

HTC VIVE’s in-house production division, VIVE Originals, has continued to develop the immersive and interactive entertainment platform, BEATDAY in order to demonstrate what is possible in the Metaverse. BEATDAY’s latest immersive experience is “Light the Night: Redhat Killer” –a theatrical project made with volumetric capture that combines impressive visuals with puzzle games and concert elements.

G REIGNS – REIGN CORE S2

HTC’s subsidiary G REIGNS demonstrated its portable private 5G (P5G) technology at last year’s MWC, where it showcased the REIGN CORE P5G solution, designed to deliver a fast, low latency, high capacity 5G network in a box the size of a small piece of luggage. This year, the company has unveiled REIGN CORE S2, an all-new P5G solution, which is smaller and faster than its predecessor, and comes with an even larger 5G coverage area of 10,000 square meters.

Once again, HTC Vive is using its new device to transmit real-time video from the VIVE Mars CamTrack x VIVE Originals demo. Simultaneously, the REIGN CORE S2 network is hosting a multi-user VR experience to demonstrate an Autodesk VRED 3D engineering collaboration – requiring high-fidelity and low latency. This means the same REIGN CORE S2 network will power both high-definition video and high-quality collaborative VR at the same time, according to HTC Vive.

VIVE Focus 3 and Location Based Software Suite

HTC Vive’s Location Based Experience (LBE) expertise is also on display with the Park Playground’s Mission Planet X. The four player co-op VR game will see teams use the VIVE Focus 3 headset for the LBE experience, powered through the company’s Location Based Software Suite (LBSS).

Credit: Auganix.org