So you’ve just received your FOVE 0 headset. Great! But how do you get started?

1️⃣ Step 1: Install the FOVE VR Platform

The FOVE VR Platform contains the drivers and support applications that drive the FOVE 0 and help VR and Eye Tracking applications work with the headset.

If you have not received it from us, please fill out our contact form and choose a plan. We will send you a license key and download link for the Windows installer.

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

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

2️⃣ Step 2: Familiarize yourself with 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 short period of inactivity. This behavior can be changed in the settings menu.

The toggle on the left is the on/off switch. This allows you to quickly 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 any connected FOVE headset. If no headset is connected, it simply waits for a headset to connect. It uses very few system resources when no headset is plugged in, so it’s ok to leave it running.

The middle portion with two circles shows the state of the eye tracking. Gray indicates there is a problem. Green indicates that it's working, or partially working. You can mouse over to see any error (for example, if the headset has not been calibrated).

In the image below, the eye-tracking hardware is functioning, but the position tracking lights are not connected. The right side will show the state of the position tracking.

The right-click menu can be opened by right-clicking on either the tray icon or anywhere within the rectangular window. This menu contains the most common functions that you may need to work with while using the headset.

Within the right-click menu is an option to open the debug tool. This has more advanced features, including the ability to see a live image of the eyes.

3️⃣ 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 primary ways to develop for FOVE include:

• 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 methods below actually use this internally.
  • It has a fairly simple API for enabling hardware and acquiring data, such as eye tracking coordinates.
  • Use DirectX/OpenGL (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 and add our "FOVE Interface" prefab to your scene, then you're good to start developing.
• Using the FOVE Unreal Plugin
  • This is recommended for people with more advanced rendering needs or those who simply prefer to use Unreal over Unity.
• Using SteamVR
  • FOVE 0 can run under SteamVR using our plugin available in the Steam Store.
  • However, eye tracking data cannot be read via SteamVR, as there is currently no OpenVR API for that function. It can be read by using any of the above methods while simultaneously using SteamVR.