Forte Data Gloves

Using the Forte Data Glove & HTC Vive Trackers in Unity

On this page

    1. Install Unity

    2. Set Up the HTC Vive System

    3. Setup the Trackers

    • To pair the trackers, in the SteamVR menu, select “Devices -> Pair Controller” and then hit the button that says “I want to pair a different type of controller…”.
    • Select “HTC Vive Tracker”, then press and hold the blue button on the Tracker to finish pairing.
    • Assign the Tracker roles by going to the SteamVR menu and selecting “Devices -> Manage Vive Trackers”.
    • Set both Trackers to the role “Held In Hand”.

    4. Download the Forte Data Glove Translation Unity Package

    • The Vive-integrated Translation package can be downloaded here: Unity Vive SDK

    5. Import the SDK Package Into a Unity Project

    • Start the Unity application.
    • Open any Unity project or create a new project by selecting “New” and then selecting the “3D template”.
    • Import the package into the Unity project by selecting “Assets -> Import Package -> Custom Package… “. Select the Forte Data Glove Translation package file at it’s downloaded location, then import all assets.

    6. SteamVR Actions

    The Translation scene does not use SteamVR Actions, however, the SteamVR application may print errors on the console that no bindings are set. You can auto generate default bindings by doing the following:

    • In Unity’s menu, go to “Window -> SteamVR Input”
    • Select “Yes” when asked about an actions.json file.
    • And finally, select the “Save and Generate” button when the SteamVR Input menu pops up.

    7. Open the Tabletop Example Scene

    • Make sure the gloves are turned on but not paired. Never pair the Forte Data Glove via the Windows Bluetooth menu. For more detailed instructions on powering, go here: Powering On/Off & Connecting
    • Make sure the Trackers are awake and shown as solid green in the SteamVR window.

    Open the Translation scene by either using the project browser or using the menu option “File -> Open Scene” and navigating to Assets/DataGlove/Vive/Scenes/Tabletop.unity
    Play the scene by pressing the blue play button at the top of the Unity project window.

    If you are using the gloves wirelessly, select your glove names in the glove selector popup menu and press connect. When the red light turns green, the glove is ready to use.

    8. Calibration

    In order for the glove to track your motions and gestures in 3D space, you’re going to have to first calibrate the glove. While you have the Translation scene running, hit the space bar to trigger the calibration sequence:

    Flat Calibration: All fingers are out straight

    Fist Calibration: All fingers are in, except thumb

    Thumb Calibration: Thumb curled in, while the other fingers are out

    There are also hotkeys for calibrating:
    H: home the rotation of glove to face forwards
    F: Flat Calibration
    K: Fist Calibration
    T: Thumb Calibration

    In the Scene

    In the scene you will see a table with:

    • Cubes that can be picked up, stacked, or thrown
    • A bowl of marbles that can be picked up with a pinch motion
    • A lamp with an on/off button
    • A hammer with pegs that can be hammered into a board
    • A panel with buttons and knobs that controls a floating cube
    • A button that activates a menu for learning American Sign Language. The menu currently detects the signs of fifteen letters and nine numbers ( A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, U, W, X, Y, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ).

    Additionally while playing the Tabletop scene, the following keyboard shortcuts can be performed from the computer running the scene. Ensure that the correct window is selected when using a keyboard shortcut.

    • Space Bar: Starts a full calibration routine for the gloves
    • Tab Key: Swaps the trackers between left and right
    • “F” Key: Calibrates the Flat pose
    • “K” Key: Calibrates the Fist (or Knuckles) pose
    • “T” Key: Calibrates the Thumb In pose
    • “H” Key: Re-center the scene to where the headset currently is
    • “W” Key: Toggles the Glove Selection Window

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