The virtual reality future is coming

STRAP on a headset and immerse yourself in movies, events and spectacular locations. You might even go shopping.

Jason Larke watches his son's birth from 4000km away on a Samsung Galaxy VR headset.

WHILE virtual reality gaming and shooting folks floats the boat of some, it’s the other applications of this uplifting technology that inspire me.

It’s hard to describe the VR experience — you have to see it. But imagine a 3-D movie, something of the scope of Avatar or Gravity, where you place yourself inside and look around — forward, backward, top, bottom and sideways — so your brain thinks you are there.

You interact with this environment, moving and turning around as you would in reality. In the case of the HTC Vive headset, you even walk around the virtual environment.

The feeling of “being there” rather than just being a distant spectator is likely to be a huge drawcard. The recent story of Alison Larke giving birth in Perth is an example. Four thousand kilometres away in Chinchilla, Queensland, her husband Jason donned a Galaxy VR headset and virtually experienced the delivery room. It is an uplifting example of what VR can offer.

You and I would find it hard to replicate such an event, as electronics firm Samsung and virtual reality film company Rapid VR installed special communications technology to make streaming VR across the internet possible. It included a satellite dish on the hospital roof.

But in future this could change. The elderly or immobile could don a headset and experience the feeling, albeit contrived, of being back at home or with their relatives at a celebration.

They could get near to experiencing the thrill of skiing down a slope, flying in a balloon or soaring over the terrain in Finland: these VR experiences already have been shot.

Sport fans could sample the excitement and atmosphere of an event happening across the globe, or a concert, virtually visit an art gallery or museum. It’s more intimate than just watching them on TV.

Then there’s VR films. Rapid VR is shooting a rock concert at the SXSW entertainment event in Austen, Texas. Another film company, Pixelcase, in partnership with SBS, is preparing a virtual reality film of this year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It will thrust viewers into the centre of the parade and on to floats.

Virtually shopping in a real outlet from afar, walking through virtual reconstructions of homes for sale or virtually touring a holiday resort before you make a booking are commercial applications.

Qantas has announced it will offer Samsung Galaxy VR headsets to first-class passengers on selected flights loaded with VR content about tourist spots such as Kakadu National Park.