Refract Tech is making affordable VR tracking for your legs

Refract Technologies today revealed its new virtual reality accessory, the AXIS Lite. This set of four rechargeable nodes can be attached to the body in order to track movement without much extra hardware — it requires no external base station or wires. As the name suggests, it’s a scaled-down version of the company’s existing AXIS VR accessories. Refract opens the preorder for the Axis Lite on February 8, and the device launches in late spring. The device costs $288 during early bird pricing, with a full retail price of $350.

The AXIS Lite is intended to capture full-body motion on the lower body with low latency, according to Refract. The four nodes are attached to the legs with straps, capturing movement on the lower body with finer detail. It’s compatible with SteamVR, OpenVR, OpenXR, Unity, and Unreal Engine. The accessory can also capture kicks — Refract’s partnered with the World Taekwondo Federation to develop Virtual Taekwondo, allowing anyone to experience the sport.