There are several promising areas when it comes to solving what is currently virtual reality’s (VR’s) biggest issue, input. While hand-tracking and motion controllers are currently looking to play a big part in the technology’s future, other concepts such as body tracking could well prove essential in time. Many body tracking solutions such as PrioVR and Perception Neuron strap markers to users to register their movements. Now The Agency for Virtual Reality (A4VR), a company based in Düsseldorf, Germany, has revealed a new body tracking system that doesn’t need these markers.

The company has teamed up with The Captury to announce HeroVR, a new system that uses cameras to accurately track a user’s movements without the need for any wearable add-ons. HeroVR uses anywhere between eight and 16 cameras placed in a variety of angles that deliver positional tracking in real-time. The company claims that the system can even track multiple users at the same time.

A video below shows the system being used with the Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD). Players are seen using the tech in a sci-fi experience in which they can move on the spot and use shields strapped to their arms to block incoming fire from drones. The footage also shows just what the cameras are tracking when participants strap on the HMD.

“HeroVR has fully met all expectations and confirmed our plans and aspirations for an immersive experience,” A4VR co-founder Jan Thiel said following HeroVR’s reveal at FMX15 in Stuttgart, Germany. “We are confident to realize other, more complex developments ignored to inspire with our custom VR solutions.”

A4VR’s plans for HeroVR and its release in the future aren’t clear at this point in time. Is a system such as this viable for consumer release? VRFocus will continue to follow the technology closely, reporting back with any further updates on it.