I’m going to really show my inner geek with this post (oh who am I kidding, it’s not like I’m trying to hide my geeky side). I’m about to share with my experience with the Oculus Rift, a new virtual reality platform. My husband bought the Oculus Rift developer kit right before Christmas. When he ordered it and tried to describe it I was skeptical. Virtual reality just sounded kind of cheesy to me. Any experience I’ve had with virtual reality has been mediocre. Let me tell you, the Oculus Rift is really freaking cool!
Now I will tell you that now video or no description I can give you will do the Oculus Rift justice. It really is just one of those things that you have to experience for yourself. We’ve had several friends over to our house to show them. And I’m not saying this because I’m being compensated for this post (I really wish I was being compensated for this post!). I’m not being paid for this post, nor is this post sponsored in any way. This is just my experience that I want to try to share with you all.
So let me walk you through one of the simulations I went through that sold me on this device:
Ok close your eyes (wait, scratch that thought you won’t be able to read the rest of this). Imagine you are swimming around at the bottom of the ocean. You can hear the fish swimming around you. You can hear bubbles swirling around you. You are swimming around the coral and see smaller tropical fish dart by you. You see a red glow in the distance. You swim over to the red glow to get a closer look. You see steam rising up and realize you are approaching an underwater volcano. You are mesmerized by the glow of the volcano. And as you are staring into the volcano out of nowhere a shark comes up bearing huge teeth and attacks your face!
Seriously this is what happened to me. I knew the volcano was virtual reality and I remember thinking to myself this is no big deal I can’t get hurt by this. And then the shark came and attacked me and I swear to God I screamed like a child and tossed the Oculus Rift off of my head. It was insane!
There are lots of other simulations, like a walk around Tuscany, walking on the moon, roller coasters, there are some creepy video game simulations and more.
The cool thing about the oculus rift is the 360 degree head tracking. Where ever you turn your head you can see a different part of the simulation. And it’s really best to use the oculus rift with a good set of headphones so you really feel immersed into the virtual world you are in.
The consumer version of the oculus rift won’t be out until sometime this year. And the consumer version will be better quality than the developer version as it will be 1080p instead of 720 and it will have added motion tracking to help alleviate some of the motion sickness that developers have experienced while using this.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this. I really wish you could experience this to see how cool it is. Here is a video of a guy going through the ocean simulation I was describing.
OMG! This sounds awesome. I remember how great it was at Disney when I was a kid to watch a 3D movie and a “snake” whipped out at you from under the floor. It was “so real”. That is nothing compared to this. I am definitely going to talk my dad (he is a technology teacher) into getting this. He always gets the top of the line techy stuff that I can’t afford. =)
It looks awesome…
You guys have gr8 tech gadgets there..here we dont have that many gadgets available…
i will try to buy it online….:)
Wow! I think I would have thrown it off my head if that happened to me, too! Sooooooo cool!
What a cool product! I never realized that you could purchase them!! I love that you can travel from the comfort of your own home! Great tool for history teachers!
That is very interesting. I didn’t know there was a device like that for the home. It would be wonderful to do a virtual reality of places around the world it would be difficult to get to, like Egyptian pyramids or something.
This is wicked cool! I think my kids and I would be fighting over who gets to use it all the time!
WOW! This is seriously so cool! I think my daughter would love to use this. I can’t stop smiling while watching the video.
I probably would’ve screamed too with the shark getting extra close. I gasped when reading that part.
Woah! We are really heading into the future – this sounds amazing! I probably would also be screaming with the shark attack though …
cool that is a great product.. you can go to different places virtually…my daughter would love to play with this all the time 🙂
I was just wondering.. does it have some kind of “relaxing” stuff in there? My mom is having trouble falling asleep and relaxing scenes may help her fall asleep instead of watching the insane late night news on tv. If it has that feature, I would be getting her an Oculus rift.
There are some more relaxing simulations. Although since the device is rather clunky I’m not sure how effective it would be with helping with sleep.
What a great review of what, by your description, is the product that is missing in my life.
The possibilities and the fun that my husband could have with it. (he is a geek) but don’t tell him I said that.
Great blog you have here
That actually looks so cool; I would love to play the Oculus Rift, these simulation games look quite interesting but I think it need a hell of a lot more developing. The video shows that it works pretty well but I find the graphics of the game could be a bit better; it needs a more realistic feel it it especially with sharks in an ocean.
I agree it needs a lot more development. But it’s off to a really good start. I’m just trying to imagine where the technology is going to be 2-3 years from now or even 10 years from now.
This sounds so absolutely cool, but I wonder if it’d bother those with photosensitive epilepsy by any chance? I would love to try one of these but if it’d be not recommended so the photosensitivity crowd I’d be sadly unable to. 🙁
Sounds like something my son would adore. I’m sure he would be blown away by this. I’m tempted also, it sounds so good. But I know he would love it!
This is pretty awesome! I think my favorite feature is the 360 degree head tracking! I think its pretty neat that when you turn your head, you would be able to see different parts of the simulation.
Wow! Didn’t know we can do this now. Such a cool gadget. My little cousing would love this for sure 🙂
This looks so cool, I wonder if I could use it even though I have photosensitivites? I don’t know if something like this is usable with those who can’t use things that typically have an epilepsy warning?
Unfortunately this device does come with warnings about sensitivities to flashing lights. Since the device is literally right in your eyes I could see someone who is sensitive to that sort of thing having problems. There have been simulations I’ve found to be too much and I’m not sensitive to light.
That seems so cool. I bet my kids and hubby would be nuts for this.