Oculus Rift How To Set Up Sensors

While it'due south true that the Oculus Rift didn't initially back up room-scale tracking, Oculus has embraced large-calibration tracking, assuasive for 360 degree tracking and room-scale gameplay at similar sizes as the HTC Vive. This guide will evidence you the easiest way to get upwards and running with rooms-scale tracking starting with just two Sensors (cameras) and no drilling holes.

You might be wondering why you should consider setting upwardly your tracking for room-scale. The respond is elementary: the default setup places two Sensors in front of you, meaning yous accept to stay mostly facing forward in order for the controllers to exist consistently tracked. Changing to a room-scale configuration means you lot tin physically plow 360 degrees around, making a world of difference in experience compared to using a thumbstick to rotate. Depending upon your Sensor setup, you can achieve a much larger tracking surface area than the default setup, significant you can physically walk around your VR playspace which can profoundly enhance immersion.

Information technology's actually quite piece of cake to configure your Rift for room-calibration tracking. You won't need to drill any holes or marker up your walls, and you lot tin become started with the two Sensors yous already have and simply ~$xviii in parts!

Setting Up the Oculus Rift for Room-calibration Tracking

Although Oculus recommends ownership an extra Sensor [Amazon] to use three Sensors for room-scale tracking, the truth is that y'all can get a solid 360 degree tracking experience starting with just 2 Sensors.

What You'll Need

Oculus Sensor (2x) [Amazon]
Medium Command Hooks (1x pack of 2) [Amazon]
Active USB 3.0 Extension Cable (1x) [Amazon]
Command Light Clips (1x pack of 16) [Amazon] [optional, for make clean cord arrangement]

Setting Upwardly Your Sensors

You can reference Oculus' official detailed guide hither for a two-Sensor 360 setup, just if you're already familiar with configuring your Sensors in the Oculus software then it's just nearly placement.

Discover two corners of a square playspace with walls that will allow you to mount your Sensors in opposite corners most 10 feet autonomously (you may be able to button a little further, but tracking quality could be impacted).
Follow the instructions on the Medium Command Hooks carefully (we don't want your Sensors falling to the basis!) and identify one hook at each corner where you desire to mount your Sensors. These hooks hold strong and come off clean (when installed and removed correctly), and mean you don't demand to drill any holes.
Remove your Sensors from their included stands by holding the head of the camera and twisting the base until it unthreads.
Thread the Sensor's cable behind the hook (every bit if hanging the Sensor by the cable) with the Sensor caput's stem on the reverse side. Lean the back of the Sensor against your wall at an angle pointing at the opposite corner of the playspace through the center; adjust the tilt of the stem to get the Sensor to stay at the desired angle. If your walls are slick and the photographic camera doesn't stay at the right bending, use a small loop of scotch tape between the photographic camera and the wall to provide enough friction for the camera to lean against.
For the Sensor in the opposite corner, farther from the computer, use the USB 3.0 extension cable to reach.
[Optional] Apply the Command Light Clips every two feet or so along the path you'd like the Sensor cables to run. Slide the cable into the Light Clips for a cleaner look.

Configuring the Oculus Software

Once y'all've completed your Sensor placement, you lot'll need to configure your playspace for this Sensor setup through the Oculus software.

After launching the Oculus software, select Settings > Devices > Configure Rift > Sensor Setup.
Follow the instructions until the Adjust Sensor Position page. (Note: If y'all become a error nearly i or both of your sensors not working correctly, place your Rift in the middle of the playspace in articulate view of both Sensors).
Ignore the warning about your Sensors being further than half dozen feet apart, click Next. You will become another alert, ignore this alarm too and click Proceed.
Trace out your playspace in the adjacent stage as big every bit you tin based on what the Sensors tin notice. Continue with the setup wizard to ascertain the eye of your playspace and complete the setup.

Now you're prepare to play!

Hands Upgrade to an Fifty-fifty Larger Rift Tracking Space with an Extra Sensor

Since you'll already have 2 Sensors by the fourth dimension yous take an Oculus Rift and Touch controllers, using a ii-Sensor setup is the fastest way to become up and running, but now that you know the process, adding a third Sensor for even meliorate and larger tracking is breeze.

Larn an extra Sensor [Amazon] and Medium Command Claw [Amazon] (Annotation: When purchased from Amazon US, the extra Sensor comes included with a 5 meter USB extension cablevision.)
Using the aforementioned procedure outlined in the two-Sensor setup guide above, mount your extra Sensor in the unoccupied corner at the front of your playspace (and then that you take two sensors in the front corners and one sensor in one of the rear corners).
The rear Sensor can exist up to fourteen-anxiety away from the Sensor in the diagonal corner of the playspace, so consider mounting it further dorsum for a larger tracking area.
Oculus recommends that two of the Sensors be plugged into USB iii.0 ports and one sensor be plugged into a USB 2.0 port. Run across details on USB bandwidth balancing here.
Run through the 'Configuring the Oculus Software' department on this folio.

At present you're set to play!

Iv Sensor Oculus Rift Setup?

So nosotros've covered ii and 3-Sensor Rift tracking configurations… how nearly a fourth? While technically possible, Oculus' recommendation is that four-Sensor Rift setups tend to be more than problematic than they're worth, so consider it experimental if you want to brand the endeavour. If yous exercise want to try four Sensors with the Rift, consider reading upwardly on USB bandwidth balancing commencement.

Finding Room-scale and 360 Games on the Oculus Rift

Mostly speaking, any Oculus Rift game which works for the default front end-facing Sensor configuration should piece of work fine with room-calibration Rift setups, but you'll become the best experience from games that are specifically designed to support 360 and room-calibration.

Every game in the Oculus store has an 'Additional Details' section at the bottom of its shop folio where you tin can see which Tracking Modes and Player Modes the developers take indicated support for, including 360 and room-scale.

You lot tin of class also find games supporting the Oculus Rift on Steam, and—because Steam is the home of the HTC Vive which has room-calibration tracking past default—you may find some games that take improve reward of your new room-calibration tracking space. When you detect a VR game on Steam, await on the correct side of the Store page for the 'VR Back up' section which specifies which headsets and tracking playspaces are supported by the game.

Oculus Rift Room-calibration Setup Tips

If you want to optimize your tracking quality and playspace size, because testing your setup with Sensors on tripods before mounting them to the wall. The threading in the stem of the Sensor is a standard 1/iv inch tripod socket.
If you're wondering which USB extension cables to buy, make sure you lot purchase an 'Active' USB extension cablevision (we've had skilful luck with this ane [Amazon]). Oculus recommends a ~16ft extension cable; profoundly exceeding that could crusade issues.
For a iii-Sensor setup, Oculus recommends that two Sensors plug into USB 3.0 ports and one Sensor plugs into USB 2.0 port. Learn about why here. For a 2-Sensor setup, you should ideally take both plugged into USB 3.0 ports, but yous can get abroad with one of the two in a USB 2.0 port in a pinch.
If you want an even cleaner expect when mounting the Sensor heads on the Command Hooks, consider mounting the hook upside downward later drilling a pigsty at the base of operations of the curve of the hook wide enough to fit the stem of the Sensor through. Or consider buying an adjustable gimbal mount [Amazon].