HTC VIVE, the leader in premium virtual reality (VR), today announced an exclusive partnership with PNY Technologies to distribute the new VIVE Pro Secure headset in North America. The new VIVE Pro Secure is designed to meet the specific privacy and security requirements of secure environments that require Authority to Operate (ATO)—such as government agencies and organizations—in addition to education, medical, and financial institutions. This professional-grade VR system provides all the benefits and features of the award-winning VIVE Pro, including top-tier graphics, premium audio, and SteamVR room-scale tracking, with hardware modifications that restrict all radios, cameras, and wireless communication functions for secure performance.

Use-cases for VR in government organizations have multiplied over the years and continue to grow as agencies adapt many of the best practices deployed in the private sector for use in training, data visualization, and manufacturing, among other applications. However, one of the major barriers to any technology adoption for organizations that require ATO is access to hardware that meets specific security and privacy requirements. The new Vive Pro Secure is a first-of-its-kind system offering hardware modifications to ensure optimal performance in the most demanding secure environments.

The Vive Cosmos was not the only major announcement coming out of HTC's Vive business unit at CES this year. While that has massive mainstream appeal, the company was quick to let us know that it was still to early to comment further than what has already been covered in the aforelinked news post. Instead, they invited us to their suite to take a closer look at the Vive Pro Eye- one of the few things that really stood out for us at the trade show.

The Vive Pro Eye is, as the name would suggest, a new SKU with integrated eye tracking in the Vive Pro HMD. Working together with Tobii, the Vive Pro Eye allows for a more natural control mechanism within VR via eye controls, which in turn means a revamped menu navigation system is possible. This allows for increased accessibility to end users with disability, more optimization on VR performance, and detailed analysis of VR experiences for both the client and the businesses alike. Read past the break for a breakdown of our experience with the Vive Pro Eye, and the various demos on hand to showcase the feature.