Getting started with FOVE

You just received your FOVE0, great! But how to get started?

Step 1. Install the FOVE VR Platform

The FOVE VR platform contains the drivers and support applications that will run the FOVE 0 and assist VR and Eye Tracking applications to work with the headset.

You can get the latest installer from our download page.

Note: If you are on Linux, please see this article instead.

After the installer completes, it will install the FOVE Tray application. You can open it any time by searching for "FOVE" in your Start Menu.

Step 2. Understanding the FOVE Tray

The FOVE Tray is the simplest way to see the state of the FOVE system at a glance. It's meant to be simple, small, and out of the way. By default it will hide itself after a little bit on inactivity (this can be changed via config).

One the left is the on-off switch. This allows you to enable and disable the FOVE system. More specifically, it enables the FOVE Service, also known as the FOVE Runtime, which is a background program that drives the headset. If no headset is connected it simply waits for a headset to connect. It uses very little resources when no headset is connected, but if you want to keep the headset off while connected, you can turn it off.

In the middle is the state of eye tracking. Gray indicates a problem, green indicates that it's working or partially working. You can mouse over to see any error, for example in the image below, eye tracking hardware is functioning but the user has not calibrated.

The right click menu, which you can get by right clicking on either the tray icon or anywhere within the rectangular window, has most of the common functions that you need to work with the headset.

Within the right click menu is an option to open the Debug tool, which has more advanced features including letting you see the eye images.

Step 3. Install your preferred development platform and get to work!

Most people using FOVE develop their own content, as the headset is primarily used by researchers and businesses. The general ways to develop for FOVE are:

• Using the FOVE SDK (C/C++/C#/Python)
  • This is the lowest level way to interface with the FOVE headset, but also the most flexible.
    • All other ways use this internally
  • It has a fairly simple API for enabling hardware and acquiring data such as eye tracking coordinates.
  • Use direct DirectX (Windows) or Vulkan/OpenGL (Linux) to draw to the headset.
    • Please note that the drawing portions are not available in the Python bindings
• Using the FOVE Unity Plugin
  • This is the easiest and most popular way to interface with FOVE
  • Drop in our Unity plugin, add our "FOVE Interface" prefab to your scene, and you're good to start developing.
• Using the FOVE Unreal Plugin
  • This is recommended for people with more advanced rendering needs or who otherwise prefer Unreal over Unity for any reason.
• Using SteamVR
  • FOVE0 can run under steam VR using a plugin available in the Steam Store.
  • However, eye tracking data cannot be read via SteamVR as there is no OpenVR API for that currently. You can read it using the above FOVE-specific methods while using SteamVR for rendering though.

Our downloads page has the relevant links to each item and documentation.