HTC Vive And Logitech Bridge Bring A Life-Like Typing Experience To Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has an enormous amount of potential, and can deliver an equally enormous amount of fun. Sometimes, though, being plucked entirely from reality isn't ideal. While for some games, using only the wireless controllers is needed, not all VR games need to be played while standing. In those cases, where a keyboard and mouse is still the preferred go-to for control, VR can complicate things by, well, not letting you see those peripherals.

Logitech has come to the rescue with a solution, and it's called Logitech Bridge. Note that it's not a brand-new keyboard purpose-built for VR... it's an accessory that works with any Logitech G keyboard, making things way easier on those who happen to already own one (but likewise unfortunate for those who might need to pick up a new plank).

Bridge is an accessory that clips onto your keyboard, and presumably, you'd choose exactly which keyboard in the software. Once those two things are set, you'll be able to see your KB inside of your VR environment. Because the tracker clips onto the KB itself, you don't need to worry about it shifting around inside the environment, because it will react naturally.

This tech goes way beyond simply letting someone see their KB in VR. Logitech talks about applying different skins to your virtual plank, which could have obvious advantages in many games, especially those with more complex keybind schemes. Or, it could simply be useful in letting someone change the aesthetic, for fun.

At the moment, Logitech is planning to seed Bridge kits (including a G keyboard) to developers working in VR, so hopefully this tech won't take too long to hit the market. Fortunately, Bridge ties in beautifully with SteamVR, so any SteamVR developer should be able to pick up the SDK and get right to work without a ton of fuss.

The rest of us will just have to wait, and hope that other companies are working on similar technologies, because it'd be unfortunate to have this tech locked to a single vendor.