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Full Body Tracking

What is full body tracking?

Full body tracking (also known as FBT) refers to allowing tracking of more than the hands and head in VR, typically referring to the legs and hips of a user. This is typically done using trackers that are worn by the user.

What is full body tracking used for?

Full body tracking, when referred to tracking of the lower body, allows for full pose estimation which is very fun for social VR settings.

Fun picture of my friends posing using FBT

You will see this tech used by people who dance in VR or do other active activities, but also by people who spend most of their time sitting, as it just improves immersion for oneself as well.

Keep in mind a majority of VR applications do not make use of FBT, so be sure to check if the software you are using supports FBT before spending money on additional hardware!

So lets say you are interested in acquiring FBT. For the sake of discussion, lets divide types of FBT into 3 general categories:

  • Wearable Trackers
  • Fake / emulated FBT
  • External cameras that track your body

Wearable Trackers

These are trackers that you strap on to yourself. Usually this consists of needing to wear trackers on your feet and hips, though some solutions require more. This solution generally costs the most money (depending on the implementation you choose) but will give the best results, and thus is the most common form.

A lot of these trackers will need some form of straps to have them actually be worn. You can find FBT straps with google searches on store-fronts like amazon, but I personally really enjoy the ones made by EOZ.

Individual trackers are generally separated in groups based on their tracking methodology. It may be worth a read here if you want to know the details.

 

 

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