2 vive systems in same big room creates base station conflict

[comprensoldotna]

Just to re-itterarate, there are two reasons I can't use a single pair of Base Stations for two vives in my availible play area.

1) My total play area is about 11x24 with a 4' wide x 4' tall x 9' long retail display table in the middle.  Putting the 2 lighthouse sensors on oposite corners of this play area would exceeds the maximum recomended separation distance of 15' by almost  double.

2) Because of the Retail displays 4' height, any controller (or headset) actions below this level when the player has their back to the lighthouse sensor in their area would not be seen by the lighthouse sensor on the oposing corner causing tracking issues as well.

 

I've already sacrificed 3 display tables and drastically re-aragned my store to make this much play area.  There is no other way I can re-arange to make one big play area without sacrificing even more of my retail display space.  As it stands this is occupying about 1/4 my total retail square footage, re-aranging would make that number even bigger.  At $2.50 a sq/ft just having this much play space is technically costing me $550/mo.

 

I will just try the hospital curtain with 4 lighthouse sensors and hope that works, if not I think my dream of having 2 Vive's with monthly competitions to demo VR and help sell gaming computers with HTC Vive's is dead.

[Synthesis]

 

Ah, I understand. I hope that works as well, just make sure you get something thick enough to block the IR rays.

Thank you,

-John C

[AldoUSMC]

RockJaw nailed most of the recommendation.  I can tell from having done it with two Vive systems... one set of light houses and just run Steam Room setup for each system and it will take.

 

As he said...if you are silly enough to not account for players physically running into each other by not setting their play areas to NOT overlap in the real world.... that's a shame on you move...

 

We did not have to power down one system while we registered the other... because they are both running on separate computers with their own HMD and controllers and Steam VR instances... just pulling position info from the same 2 lighthouses.

 

Good Luck

 

[AldoUSMC]

comprensoldotna

Is there a specific reason you don't just put all the Vive players on one side of the room and physically divide their "play area" by using either 2 Standing Sitting only setups on each computer (rather one standing/sitting per).... or doing "room scale" setup and only making the "rooms" big enough for a single player and not letting the two "rooms" overlap in your real world space ?  Wouldn't that also solve your potential problem of a customer looking at your display table in the middle.. not in VR.... getting brian bashed by someone in the play area using one of your Vives HMD'd up in VR ?

 

I would assume you are not letting customers use your Vives in your store unsupervised.... so you can also control the "wild child" syndrome if someone starts flailing out of control and endangers the player in the other Vive HMD.... and maybe allows you to protect your looky-loo folks watching who are not in VR ....

 

Just a couple more thoughts.... maybe you can't move that display in the "center"... don't know.

[sheppardDDL]

We have a large play area and have tried this set up. Just using 2 base stations facing one another, putting the channels to A and B and using the Sync cable. With both players in the steam VR lobby there are tons of tracking issues. Making it unplayable. Any additional thoughts?

[Synthesis]

 

How high up are the base stations? Unless one of the players is physically occluding one of the base stations, there should be zero tracking issues with two players in the same space. Your tracking problems are likely related to something else in the room.

How well does it work with just one player?

Thank you,

-John C

[nmichalakis]

Hi i am having the same issue but with 3 base stations and 6 lighthouses / sensors. My current setUP is like this  (see screeshot below). Every room can have a physical space of 3.25 x 3.25 meters the lighthouses are mounted on horizontal mounted tripods at 2.3 meters  height and there are no other objects (walls, curtains etc) between them. So, every room/base station and its sensors have clear view of the other 2 rooms. No matter how i rotate / angle the lighthouse i always get interfere from another lighthouse sensor.

Can you please answer these 2 questions:

1. How many sensors / lighthouses will i need for an installation like this? The room is 11.2 x 7.40 meters. Will i have conflicts if a person is walking between the red rooms but without htc vive equipment? The IR/bluetooth ignore people walking inside the room without wearing the htc vive equipment?

2. The setup that you mention (syncing/setting up one base station per time while all the other base stations are switched off) will it work for a big room like this? And how would you put the lighthouses (at which positions? like a triangle? Can i use 4 sensors for example? To maximize the coverage? All of the X-sensors  that i will need should be working for the 3 base stations independently per base station).

Thank you!

[Synthesis]

Let me just clarify terms:

Lighthouse is the name of the tracking software system. Base Stations are what we call the little boxes with lights that you set up around your play area. Sensors are beneath the "skin" of the HMD and controllers (and tracker) that detect the signals emitted by the base stations.

Okay, on to your questions:

1. You'll need 2 base stations for each play area you want. Movement within a diagonal area of up to 5 m (16 ft 4 in) is supported. For example, a 3.5 m x 3.5 m (around 11 ft 5 in x 11 ft 5 in) space. For room-scale setup, a minimum play area of 2 m x 1.5 m (6 ft 6 in x 5 ft) is required. There's no minimum for seated and standing experiences. As long as no one occludes the signal between the base stations and the connected Vive sensors on the devices, it will be fine.

2. You can only use two base stations per play space. You can have multiple players in that play space simultaneously so long as they don't block each other from the base station signals. 

Ideally for the set up you've designed below, you want to use parititions to block off each play space from each other so they don't interfere with the other base station pairs. Use a material that is opaque, non-reflective and ideally absorbs infrared radiation.

 

Thank you,

-John C

[pmachado]

i have a similar problem except i am trying to setup 3 vive systems in one large room what can i do with the 3rd system ?

[Lestaticon]

The 3rd system? It would be the same as the 1st and 2nd system. It would all depend on what you are trying to do and the space.

All the rules have been outlined above. Maybe you could start by posting a drawing with details as that would help.