Using SteamVR Trackers Without HMD

Owned by Michael Andrew
Last updated: Dec 13, 2024
11 min read

Objective

This knowledgebase article will show you how to setup your SteamVR Trackers to track the position and rotation of StretchSense Studio gloves in space. For this guide we will mostly use Tundra Trackers as these provide a good balance between tracking accuracy, physical footprint and battery life compared with other SteamVR compatible trackers. You can optionally mix other trackers for head tracking, but we recommend using the same tracker type for tracking your hand positions.

Required Materials

Software

The below software is required for this guide, except those marked as optional:

Description

Version

Description

Version

Hand Engine
3.0.12-PRO, 3.0.11-LITE
or higher
Steam Desktop Client
latest
SteamVR
2.5.5 or higher

Hardware

This guide supports the following hardware options:

Motion Capture Gloves (choose one)

Image

Motion Capture Gloves (choose one)

Image

StretchSense Studio Gloves, Pro Studio for Xsens, Pro Studio.
image-20240213-002626.png
Pro Fidelity
(is harder use wrist mounted trackers with this option as they overlap the electronics module on the wrist)
image-20240213-003945.png

XR Trackers (choose one or mix and match)

Image

XR Trackers (choose one or mix and match)

Image

3x Tundra Tracker (includes 3x SteamVR dongles).
We recommend using a Super Wireless Dongle – Tundra Labs with Tundra trackers as this only requires a single USB port for all 3 trackers.

 

3x Vive Tracker 3.0

 

3x Vive Tracker 2.0 (you must mount to a wrist strap and not directly on the glove mount due to size)

 

Hand Tracker Mounts (choose one)

Image

Hand Tracker Mounts (choose one)

Image

2x StretchSense Studio Optical/Universal Mounts
Rebuff Reality Trackstraps Set (Wrists + Belt)
(The belt strap can be adjusted to fit around your head by cutting it down to size)

 

AMVR 5 Pcs VR Tracker Straps

Head Tracker Mounts

Image

Head Tracker Mounts

Image

Vive Tracker GoPro Head Mount adapter by morgoth90 + 1x Neewer Stainless Steel D-Ring 1/4" Screw
GoPro Head Strap + QuickClip

Other Required Hardware

Image

Other Required Hardware

Image

3-4x Valve Index Base Station 2.0
(A minimum of 3 base stations are required for optimal tracking performance)

1. Null HMD & Head Tracker Setup

These steps will take you through how to connect and configure two trackers for use with SteamVR.

  1. Download and install the Steam Desktop client and SteamVR.

  2. Start SteamVR and connect the Vive tracker you want to use for head tracking. Make note of the name and serial number that shows up in the device list (e.g. LHR-4B07E0F2) as you’ll need this later.

  3. Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config\steamvr.vrsettings in a text editor.

  4. Add "activateMultipleDrivers" : true, "forcedDriver": "null", to near the top of the steamvr section of your steamvr.vrsettings config file and save the file.

{ "steamvr" : { "activateMultipleDrivers" : true, "forcedDriver": "null", "allowAsyncReprojection" : false, "allowInterleavedReprojection" : false, "allowSupersampleFiltering" : false, "enableHomeApp" : false, "mirrorViewGeometry" : "1387 675 2272 1270", "showMirrorView" : true } }

  1. Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\drivers\null\resources\settings\default.vrsettings in a text editor.

  2. Secondly Set "enable" : true under driver_null to enable the null driver and save the file.

{ "driver_null" : { "enable" : true, "serialNumber" : "Null Serial Number", "modelNumber" : "Null Model Number", "windowX" : 0, "windowY" : 0, "windowWidth" : 1920, "windowHeight" : 1080, "renderWidth" : 1920, "renderHeight" : 1060, "secondsFromVsyncToPhotons" : 0.01111111, "displayFrequency" : 60.0 } }

  1. Start SteamVR, right-click on your head mounted tracker and click Manage Trackers (see image below).

  1. In the Steam VR settings select Manage Trackers (see below)

  1. Set the Tracker Role to Camera. Click Close and also close SteamVR Settings.

 

By default, this assumes the tracker is front facing; if you have it mounted to the back of your head you will need to adjust the offsets for the tracker in your animation software, so the character’s head faces the correct direction.

  1. Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config\steamvr.vrsettings in a text editor.

  2. Add the new section below to steamvr.vrsettings called TrackingOverrides, replacing vive_trackerLHR-xxxxxxxx with the serial number and name of the Tundra tracker you are using for your head, found in step. This will force the head mounted tracker to be used as the HMD tracking point.

    "TrackingOverrides" : { "/devices/lighthouse/LHR-xxxxxxxx" : "/user/head" }

     

When using Vive Trackers instead of Tundra Trackers the device path is /devices/htc/vive_trackerLHR-xxxxxxxx.

2. SteamVR Room Calibration & Setup

  1. NOTE: For this example, we are using SteamVR Version 2.5.5 with the Null HMD driver, 3x Base Station 2.0s, and 3x Tundra Trackers (2x hands and 1x head). This guide does not require VR controllers to be connected.

  2. Start SteamVR

  3. Turn on your base stations, conduct the Room Setup and choose Standing Only when prompted.

  4. Put the strap with the head mounted tracker attached on your head and ensure the tracker is turned on and paired with the SteamVR dongle connected to your PC, then click NEXT.

  5. Stand in the position you will be using during your animation. If it’s at your desk, stand up in front of the desk near where you usually sit. Otherwise stand in the middle of your capture space. If you don’t have a VR controller connected, you can use a wireless mouse and click CALIBRATE CENTER. Click NEXT when done.

  6. On the next screen, manually enter your height when prompted and click Calibrate Floor. Click NEXT when done.

  7. With SteamVR running, go to the SteamVR settings menu and toggle Show Advanced Settings. Adjust the following setting: Video → Pause VR when headset is idle and set it to Off. This will allow SteamVR to send tracker data to your animation application and is necessary when using the Null headset driver in SteamVR.

     

  8. In the Dashboard tab of the SteamVR settings, set VR Dashboard on System Button to Off. This will prevent the dashboard from appearing which can block the output of Tundra Tracker data to animation software, Unreal Engine and Unity.

3. Tundra Tracker Setup for Hand Tracking

  1. Mount each Tundra Tracker to the track straps or directly to your gloves as per the Correcting Hand Rig Offsets for Tundra Trackers section of this guide. Ensure that the trackers are fastened tightly.

  2. Connect your Tundra Trackers as per the device manufacturers instructions. Once the trackers are paired right-click on one of the trackers and click Manage Trackers (see image below).

  3. In the Steam VR settings select Manage Trackers (see below)

  4. For the trackers you have connected leave the Tracker Role set to Left Elbow or Right Elbow depending on which hand you have attached the trackers to. Click Close and also close SteamVR Settings.

  5. Leave SteamVR running in the background and begin to setup your SteamVR compatible software that supports SteamVR trackers, like Virtual Motion Capture (VMC).

Correcting Hand Rig Offsets for Tundra Trackers

Different Tundra Tracker mounting positions need adjusted offsets for the left and right hands in your animation software. For these examples we will show how to account of this in Virtual Motion Capture, assuming that you follow the mounting orientations as pictured.

StretchSense Studio Optical / Universal Mount Offset Correction

StretchSense provides an optional first-party mount to attach smaller trackers directly to StretchSense Studio Gloves. This provides the best balance of tracking accuracy for the hand orientation as it accounts for wrist bending like with the Palm Ring straps but doesn’t put extra pressure on your hand.

When ordering Studio Gloves from the StretchSense website select Optical/Universal Mounts from the drop-down menu.

  • Mount the trackers using a 1/4 inch photography screw with the Tundra base plate attached to the tracker.

  • Orient the trackers so the power LED is facing away diagonally from your wrist.

  • The tracker should be aligned so the base is square with the mount.

  • The USB charging port should be facing towards your wrist diagonally. This allows charging both the glove and Tundra trackers with the charge cables facing the same direction.

  • The orientation of both trackers on the mounts should be mirrored.

 

  • You should only need minor adjustments to the position offsets to account for the raised mount on the glove. The ones suggested below are close to where the tracker will sit on a Size 2 Studio Glove.

  • In most cases you will just need to set the rotation of left- and right-hand offsets to correct the hand orientation in your animation software.

Wrist Strap Hand Offset Correction

See the Unity VR Vive Tracker guides section for Wrist Strap Hand Offset Correction on how to mount Tundra trackers to this kind of strap. Ideally do this so the wrist joint is oriented in your animation software in such a way so minimal rotation offset adjustment is required.

Palm Ring Straps Hand Offset Correction

See the Unity VR Vive Tracker guides section for Palm Ring Straps on how to mount Tundra trackers to this kind of strap. You will need to adjust the rotation of the tracker so both trackers are mirrored. Ideally do this so the wrist and/or palm joint is oriented in your animation software in such a way so minimal rotation offset adjustment is required.

Head Tracker Mounting

Assemble the 3D printed mount and attach it to a GoPro head strap as pictured. If using a Vive Tracker as the head mount, make sure the charge port and LED is facing upwards. You will need to adjust the orientation if using a Tundra Tracker. When performing a calibration in software like Virtual Motion Capture, it will automatically compensate for the orientation of the tracker. You may need to adjust the Z offset of the tracker in your animation software with this mount as it is not flush with your forehead.

Connecting to Animation Software

There are a few ways to get StretchSense glove data out into your animations to combine finger animations with the position and rotation of the Tundra Trackers.

Virtual Motion Capture

  1. Open Hand Engine, connect and calibrate your gloves.

  2. Go to Edit ->Settings and toggle VMC Streaming to On.

  3. Open Virtual Motion Capture.

  4. Click Open VRM and select your VRM model file or connect your VRoid Hub account and download your chosen VRM model.

     

  5. Click the Setting button and check the box next to the first entry under VMC Protocol receiver. Make sure the Port is set to the port used for VMC streaming in Hand Engine (the default is 39540).

  6. Select the first entry in the VMC Protocol receiver list and click the Edit button.

  7. Check the boxes next to Left Finger and Right Finger, then click Close.

  8. Back on the Settings menu, click the Open tracker assignment settings button and set your Head, Left-hand and Right-hand assigned trackers from the list. If you need to, go back to the SteamVR tracker settings and note which tracker is which, before returning for this screen:

     

  9. Optionally, adjust the left-hand and right-hand tracker offsets to compensate for the position of the tracker based on your chosen tracker mounting option. You can test the effectiveness of any offset adjustments by pushing your hands together in a “pray” gesture and see if both palms contact on your character.

  10. Click Close when done.

  11. Back on the VMC control panel, click Calibration:

     

  12. Under Standard mode select I-pose. On the VMC viewport will have spheres representing the head, left-hand and right-hand trackers line up with the correct position on your VRM character’s body:

  13. Click the Calibration button then move your body while looking at the resulting screen, put your hands down by your sides with the palms facing your legs. Make the spheres representing the trackers line up with the correct position on your VRM character’s body. Hold the position until the countdown completes and after 5 seconds the calibration will be applied to the character.

  14. Once the calibration finishes, a confirmation message will appear:

  15. Check your character’s tracking performance and if needed, go back to the Settings menu and click Hand Rotate Fix and Calibration Setting buttons to adjust the character height and hand rotation to compensate for the tracker orientation.

Warduo

  1. Follow the StretchSense integration guide for Warudo to get setup to receive finger animation data from Hand Engine.

  2. For hand position tracking, you will also need to download the paid version of Virtual Motion Capture (available on the VMC developer’s Patreon or pixivFANBOX) in order to output the tracking to Warudo.

  3. Follow the Warudo VMC integration guide to setup for hand position and rotation tracking.

https://youtu.be/lbKq81QT5nQ?si=6Qqps8vEAKLlqsbQ

Changelog

Version

Publish Date (YYYY/MM/DD)

Changelog

Version

Publish Date (YYYY/MM/DD)

Update instruction order

v.1.1.0

2024/12/14

Initial version.

v1.0.0

2024/11/04