HTC Vive Gets Eye-Tracking Upgrade Kit for $220

Beijing-based 7invensun will start taking pre-orders next month for their aGlass lens kit that fits to an HTC Vive virtual reality headset adding eye-tracking support. Unfortunately, it will only be available initially for users in China but according to UploadVR, they will start selling it internationally around Q3 2017.

The aGlass lens is a two-piece kit that users can easily add to the HTC Vive headset. Each kit will include three pairs of interchangeable lenses and these eye-pieces are connected to the Vive via USB. This lens is able to track pupil movement utilizing infrared and various sensor lights and the company also claims that each lens can be customized for the user’s sight requirements.

7invensun’s aGlass also comes with custom firmware that allows for manually applying foveated rendering, which lowers the workload demanded by the Vive headset, increasing framerate and allowing VR games to run better even on older NVIDIA or AMD hardware, although according to the company, it will only be available for NVIDIA for now upon release.

7invensun is not the only company working on an eye-tracking upgrade kit for the Vive however. Eye-tracking company Tobii, headset maker Fove and Eyefluence, who was recently acquired by Google, have announced plans as well.