HTC redesigns Vive Cosmos with 6 inside-out tracking cameras

We already knew that HTC was seeding developers with new information on its premium tethered consumer PC headset Vive Cosmos ahead of a third-quarter 2019 launch, but no one realized that the version shown at CES this January wasn’t the final design. Today, HTC’s Facebook page revealed a “fresh off the line” version of Cosmos that looks substantially different than before, now sporting six inside-out tracking cameras and an edgier detachable faceplate.

Originally, Cosmos was shown with twin cameras on its face in roughly human eye position, plus left and right side cameras to provide additional hand tracking outside one’s field of vision. The new version adds two more cameras, one pointing up and the other pointing down from the frame, presumably to enable extremely wide vertical environmental and body awareness to the previously horizontal design.