Update: Valve’s Chaperone is apparently a system used to display boundaries within the virtual reality system.
According to one of our Twitter readers, Matt Gooding who is a VR developer and co-founder of Virtual AEC, Inc, Valve is calling the system it uses to contain Vive wearers Chaperone.
“Chaperone is the system they use to display your physical bounding space in virtual reality”, explained Gooding on Twitter.
It does make total sense, given the meaning of the word Chaperone too.
When when tried the HTC Vive there is a in-built headset perimeter that warns you when you’re about to stray outside the 15x15ft tracking space, meaning you won’t stray too far outside your safe zone.
Original Story: Valve has trademarked something called Chaperone, which is somehow related to VR.
PC gaming giant Valve has trademarked something called Chaperone and as far as we can tell it’s related to VR.
Valve applied for the Chaperone trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office back in March, but the application has only been recently discovered by Reddit users.
What makes this trademark application particularly interesting is that it is specifically related to virtual reality.
It says it will relate to “hardware and software, sensors, and beacons for the detection and measurement of physical objects and the representation of such objects in virtual reality environments.”
The trademark also covers the “electronic apparatus for the detection and measurement of physical objects and the representations of such objects in virtual reality environments.”
Related: Why SteamVR and the HTC Vive will win the virtual reality war
Doesn’t exactly sound like the name for Valve’s first full virtual reality game then. But, it could well be something to do with the HTC Vive VR headset that Valve is working with HTC for.
The HTC Vive uses lasers emitted from base stations known as Lighthouses that allow the wearer to move within a 15x15ft space.
It could be that the Chaperone trademark is something to do with the sensors on teh headset or the controllers that enable them to be tracked by the lasers.
The HTC Vive is due out later this year with a pre-Christmas release date pencilled in for now with no word of a price.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.