> So in my ideal world, VR would be a licensed or open standard system like Dolby whatever or THX are for audio. For example, if you bought a phone with the Whi

> So in my ideal world, VR would be a licensed or open standard system like Dolby whatever or THX are for audio. For example, if you bought a phone with the Whizbang VR logo on it, it would work with your Whizbang VR logo head tracking sensors, Whizbang VR logo head mount, Whizbang VR logo controllers, and be compatible with the Whizbang VR software API. But all that stuff could be made by different manufacturers. That are exactly the goals of OpenVR and OSVR. Both APIs allow any vendor and any software to communicate with each other. In fact I used a Rift DK2 with razer hydras and leap motion (the driver for the latter being third party). Riftcat and trinus are two examples of third party OpenVR HMD drivers. You can now buy lighthouse sensors and make and sell devices royalty free (currently with a temporal condition for licensing of attending a seminar). The reason Vive controllers connect to the HMD instead to a USB dongle or link box is that dev kit users complained the wireless connection was problematic sometimes; But you can use them with a different HMD (through USB) or you can use different controllers with the Vive. There are limitations at this time with mixing different tracking systems but I think it's reasonable since it's currently unusual, and I'm sure there will be third party solutions for either API when it's not that unusual (in the case Valve themselves don't offer a solution). The Hydra driver already has a calibration step to have it match the HMD. In a few days Oculus users will be able to access a big library of Vive games using their Touch controllers. But unlike with the Vive and all other vendors, Oculus hardware can only be used with their runtime.