Microsoft has debuted its first design for virtual reality motion controllers and they look like a hybrid for the HTC Vive's wand controllers and the Oculus Rift Touch controllers. Designed for release later this year with the $400 Acer headset bundle, the controllers are said to offer six degrees of motion, but they must be in sight of the headset because the whole system uses inside-out tracking, that is, it doesn't need external sensors to have any idea where you are.
Instead, it makes use of on board cameras, which may give the headset itself more freedom, but could offer some limitations to the controllers.
The headset and controllers don't need to be thethered in one space, so theoretically with a backpack computer, you could walk anywhere and enjoy high-tier virtual reality experiences, be it in a field, on a mountain, or just about any building you find yourself in.
In the trailer for the Windows Mixed Reality controllers, we see it enable teleported movement within VR and make painting and sculpting easy within the virtual world. They feature trigger and stick controller inputs as well as grip buttons on the sides.
As exciting as these controllers look however, the big downside to inside-out tracking with controllers, is that if the headset can't see them, then the virtual world doesn't know they exist. That means you may not be able to reach behind you using this design.
We don't know how that will be handled just yet though, so we'll wait to try them out ourselves before passing judgement.
