Oculus VR hires ex-Valve dev and a robotics researcher

Virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR recently hired 20 year industry veteran and ex-Valve developer Tom Forsyth and robotics and sensor fusion researcher Steve LaValle Ph.D, according to the official Oculus VR blog.

While at Oculus VR, Forsyth will focus on the software development kit and a "few top-secret VR R&D projects." The software engineer was previously working on Team Fortress 2 in VR at Valve, with other past workplaces including Intel and RAD Game Tools.

"It was amazing working with it on Team Fortress 2 and seeing the extra immersion people felt inside a game they already knew so well," Forsyth said in a statement. "I'm really looking forward to helping other developers work with this tech as we go towards a consumer version."

LaValle, who has been working with the team on the Rift's hardware and software since last September, recently took a break from his projects at the University of Illinois where his areas of research were robotics, sensor fusion, planning and control. He will join Oculus as its full-time principal scientist.

"Steve's leading research and development on some of the toughest VR challenges including sensor fusion, magnetic drift correction, and kinematic modeling," according to the blog.

Both Forsyth and LaValle have their own blogs where they will share their recent research and thoughts on virtual reality.

Earlier this year, Oculus VR appointed former senior vice president and head of development at Activision, Laird M. Malamed, as its chief operating officer.