Friday, August 29, 2014

Oculus Rift turns rollercoaster ride into a virtual shooter


Some researchers study carbon nanotubes -- and then there are these guys . Thomas Wagner and his students from Kaiserslautern University in Germany have used an Oculus Rift headset to transform a real rollercoaster into an virtual experience. That's been done before on the sly, but this time it was legit: the group teamed up with rollercoaster builder Mack Rides, and developed several apps for an Oculus headset and built-in laptops. The VR "rides" were synced to the motion of two different coasters by tracking their wheels and using human monitors. The apps sport various themes like a wacky flying horse chariot ride, a submarine tour and a space shooter complete with a gamepad (see the video, below). It's still just a (really fun) experiment, but the coaster maker and researchers are keen to work out the bugs and commercialize it at some point. In case you were wondering, the FAQ shows that the headset won't fall off, the Oculus sensors work in extreme g-forces, and no, the VR won't make you barf -- as long as it's in sync with the ride.



Filed under: ,


Comments


Via: IGN


Source: VR Coaster


Related Posts:

  • Google to kill News service in Spain due to new law Google News for Spain will be nothing but a memory after December 16th. The tech titan has announced that it's shutting down the service in the country, half a month before what's dubbed as the "Google tax" law takes effect… Read More
  • Surge the rescue robot is RoboSimian's more human-like sibling It looks like the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory team responsible for RoboSimian's existence has been busy this year, creating its possible substitute for the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale. The result? A robot that stands… Read More
  • Amazon's got a new app for lazy gift givers We all know that one person who, in lieu of a present, hands you a voucher and tells you to get yourself something nice. Whatever your feelings on that strategy, it's clear that Amazon wants to be the one-stop shop for that… Read More
  • Spotify tackles the paralysis of choice through friends Here's the weird thing about choice: it breeds indecision. And the more choice you have, the harder it is to simply settle on something... anything. It's a serious challenge facing streaming services like Spotify that put l… Read More
  • Now TV gets a Windows 8 app Whether you're a sports fanatic or a movie buff, December is generally a good month to sit down in front of the tellybox. One way to treat your eyeballs is via Sky's standalone Now TV streaming service, which is preparing f… Read More

0 comments:

Post a Comment