Contents page 1 — Even French fries and VR-slip water, please, page 2 — A goal of the programmer: “empathy for the marine life” On a page
From the left to read is dancing a tentacle, therefore, the right corals grow at the bottom of the virtual sea. Under a stone arch, I’m moving in the reflex of the head, the water sprayed me in the face, I turn my head to the right. From there, an octopus, from above, an Alien comes, it is followed by an unexpected curve – makes me dizzy. And then, after 35 seconds, the spectacle is already over. Something other, I take the Virtual Reality glasses and climb tires from my baby blue Swimming.
an afternoon of Erding in the Spa, just 50 kilometers North-East of Munich. In Bavaria school holidays, children run through screaming under the Slides, half-grown flirt with French fries and Cola. I’m here to test the virtual slip experience the Spa. Since March, the Erdinger combine a conventional water slide with digital Illusion: 150 meters long, it is a classic tube slide down, for two euros per journey, you get a VR-Headset on the head. In the glasses is a commercially available Samsung Galaxy S8, and their most important property is is: it is waterproof.
the real slip experience Has become so boring that you have to make it with a coarse-grained 3D graphics more exciting? The Design of the imaginary world seems like a more Playstation-2-game because after a cinema Simulation tires.
Stephen Greenwood, founder of the VR Start-ups, Ballast, and his Team have developed the technology. Barefoot and in shorts, the 32-year-old Californian, walk through the Spa grounds and raves about the “thrilling experience”, arising due to the combination of physical movement, virtual impressions and splashing water. 49.000 people had slipped since March with the VR-goggles, he says, international media such as the mit Technology Review and the BBC have recently reported on the innovative slide.
What you see when you slip with the VR-glasses in the Erding thermal Spa water: This scenario is called “Sky” and leads past the elephants and the butterflies. © Screenshot The burden of first contact with VR? In a bathing suit
I again climb on the sliding tower, in order to understand the fascination better. “Go!”, the lifeguard and pushes calls on me and my tires. Then I slide into a cosmic world of planets and solar systems, it’s another VR-scenario, is this time, the Film is less rapidly. Gently I slide through space, leave me in new galaxies, sprinkle with water and a small makes me feel a little like an astronaut. Slowly my brain is getting used to the virtual impressions.
Below, I meet a group of young people. For the slide the first contact with the Virtual Reality, you tell me. According to a study by the consulting firm Deloitte, three percent of the German VR-headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. So far, the sales in Germany remained far behind the expectations, which had fueled the big Hype a few years ago. The origin of the devices alone cost even after the price reduction from 400 to 600 Euro rounds, and the acquisition of necessary computer hardware. About Oculus has brought, in the meantime, an entry-level model called Go to market, the cost of 220 euros in the cheapest Version, and no additional Hardware needs, but the VR experience with the Go is not necessarily mind-boggling.