Continuing the large wave of announcements and highlights from the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 conference in Barcelona, Spain, HTC VIVE also introduced new enterprise immersive services for its XR Elite Bussiness Edition product.
The new business features from HTC VIVE include a revamped VIVERSE platform ready for productivity and remote collaboration use cases, with new AI assistant features.
Cher Wang, the Chairwoman and Co-Founder of HTC, added:
Every year, the XR industry is delivering more innovation to support humanity. In 2023 we helped older people to have new experiences while also optimising medical diagnostic tools. We put a VR headset onto the International Space Station for mental and physical health. And VIVE Arts helped to create a beautiful look at Vincent van Gogh’s final works, in a way never seen before. XR is inspiring people around the world, and the possibilities are endless.
The new features for the business-optimized XR device include location-based software suite support to support multi-user location-based experiences such as those at arcades, museums, galleries, and cultural institutions. Moreover, the new features include a VIVE Business+ system that optimizes fleet hardware and software deployment.
Combined, HTC VIVE claims that the new features can boost operations across longer multi-user sessions. Additionally, the firm confirmed that new hardware accessories, such as a face gasket, over-the-top head strap, and security clips, to support “more versatile use cases.”
Leveraging the VIVERSE and AI for Emerging XR Use Cases
To go alongside the updated HTC VIVE XR Elite Business Edition, the leading XR device vendor is also launching a VIVERSE starter park to help organizations get started with its enterprise-ready collaboration platform.
In the VIVERSE immersive collaboration platform, businesses can create bespoke meeting and event spaces to suit a range of remote collaboration use cases.
The start pack includes promotions such as three months of VIVERSE for Business, 10x free VIVE XR Elite Business Edition units, and free access to VIVE Business+ to entice new users to its platform – perhaps aiming to join the mainstream wave of XR production tools brought on Apple Vision Pro.
Moreover, the VIVERSE platform has deep AI integration to enhance the platform.
The new AI features introduce an AI Personal Assistant to assist with everyday productivity tasks – such as updating a calendar, voice-to-text translation, and real-time translation (eight languages).
The AI features also enhance the performance of avatars on the service, with AI improving the movement of user avatars. HTC VIVE is also adding support for its VIVE Ultimate Tracking product for VIVERSE users, allowing for more precious avatar movements.
More on XR Elite Business Edition
The HTC VIVE XR Elite Business Edition upgrades specifications from its original iteration, offering a compact form factor with upgraded functionality for a $1,299 price.
Some of the device’s features include:
Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) motion tracking
3840 x 1920 combined resolution
110-degree field of view (FoV) with 90Hz refresh rate
Detachable, swappable battery cradle with enhanced ergonomics with two hours of battery
The device comes with a range of services and features that cater to various workplace needs, namely, businesses manage device fleets, including monitoring battery life, performance, and other crucial real-time data – helping users stay updated on headset performance and report any issues to optimize efficiency.
The product also includes user management tools to help companies manage users with specific permissions (administrator, editor, and viewer) for better organizational efficiency, and batch configurations allow firms to control batches of headsets with custom settings.
Moreover, HTC VIVE XR Elite Business Edition Kiosk Mode removes distractions by managing content access, allowing administrators to tailor app permissions, network security, tutorials, and other parameters, creating a streamlined and controlled workflow to meet business goals.
Additionally, the product’s Visual Odometry (VO) mode scales up user rotations to deploy immersive experiences, letting users enter, train with, and highlight noteworthy immersive experiences on their headsets without setting up the environment extensively.
