At Water Way, we love all things to do with water. That naturally includes waterslides (who doesn’t love waterslides?).
But as great as they are, some waterslides are getting an upgrade from the world of virtual reality.
To find the first-ever VR waterslide, we have to travel to Germany, to the Galaxy Erding water park. The attraction in question: VRSlide, which lets its riders sit on a single-person inflatable tube while wearing a snazzy VR headset that can be submerged in a few meters of water without being damaged.
The VR headset allows the rider to view animated scenes – anything from a cave tunnel to outer space and even a wintry wonderland – as they move at high speeds through a winding slide.
Since different riders move at different speeds, though, the VR headset has a unique tracking ability to know precisely where the rider is at all times so that the animations in the headset can be synced up properly with the rider.
The result is actually pretty cool, according to people who have ridden the ride. The makers of VRSlide say the ride can be more intense than a rollercoaster because you’re stimulating so many senses at once in a way that rollercoasters can’t replicate. Your body is feeling one type of motion, while your brain is processing a different environment with sometimes a different type of motion contrary to what your body is experiencing!
Throw in the normal waterslide experience and you have a great combination.
For now, VRSlide is the only one of its kind. You’ll have to travel to Germany to experience it. However, the maker of VRSlide is in talks to bring the technology outside of Germany – perhaps even to the United States.
There’s already a willing audience. VR is picking up in popularity in the U.S., and some theme parks – most notably Six Flags – have already experimented with VR in a partnership with Samsung.
Adding VR to a waterslide may be viewed as unnecessary by some – waterslides are already pretty great – but it’s one of those things that sounds so intriguing that you just have to try it out. Hopefully you’ll soon be able to give it a try here in the States without having to dust off your passport.
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