Getting started with Unreal

The Ultraleap Unreal Plugin contains everything you need to get started with Ultraleap hand tracking in Unreal.

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Pre-requisites

• An Ultraleap Hand Tracking Camera.

• A computer that meets the Tracking Requirements.

• Ultraleap Tracking Software (V5.2+) installed on both the development computer and your XR device if it’s standalone.

• Unreal 4.27 or 5.2.

• An XR runtime plugin. OpenXR is the most common, but you may require a specific plugin if OpenXR is not supported. For example Pico, HTC Vive or Meta Quest.

Warning

We no longer support the use of the SteamVR plugin on UE 4.27 with our OpenXR layer. However, our LeapC implementation will still work with the SteamVR plugin enabled on UE 4.27.

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How to get the Plugin

As a developer you have two options to get our plugin; via the Unreal Marketplace (recommended) or from our Github Repository manually.

Unreal Marketplace

1. Open the Epic Games launcher.

2. Select the Marketplace tab and search for Ultraleap.

3. Click Install to Engine then select an engine version and click the install button.

4. Create a new project or launch an existing one.

5. Once the Unreal Engine project is open select Project Settings then Plugins.

6. There is an Input section near the top of the Plugins list, the Ultraleap Tracking Plugin should be available and enabled.

Github Repository

1. Download the latest release of the Ultraleap Unreal Plugin and SDK (make sure to use the .zip link for your version of Unreal).

2. Create a new project or launch an existing one.

3. Create a Plugins folder in your project root folder (if one doesn’t already exist).

4. Drag the unzipped Ultraleap Tracking plugin into the project’s Plugins folder.

5. Enable the plugin in Project Settings -> Plugins if it isn’t already.

6. Start using our Unreal Examples.

Quick Start Video

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How to use the Plugin

There are two methods that can be used to start tracking your hands. Either via our custom Pawn or our custom Game Mode.

Leap Hands Pawn

1. Ensure the plugin is enabled in the project, restarting when necessary

2. Open up an existing level or create a new one.

3. Change your default Pawn to LeapHandsPawn or place it in the level.

4. Select the LeapHandsPawn and open the Details Window.

5. Locate the Pawn subsection and change the Auto Possess Player to Player 0.

6. Now press Play in VR Preview.

7. Move your hands in front of you to check hand tracking is working. The virtual hands should track the movement of the real hands.

Please ensure that you’re ready to stream VR before starting Unreal otherwise VR Preview will not be available - e.g. ensure SteamVR is running.

IE Game Mode

1. Ensure the plugin is enabled in the project, restarting when necessary

2. Open any level that has an existing Player Start set up.

3. Open the World Settings window on the editor.

4. Within the Game Mode section, select IEGameMode from the GameMode Override dropdown.

5. Press Play.

6. Move your hands in front of you to check hand tracking is working. The virtual hands should track the movement of the real hands.

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