For a minute last Thursday, I was flying over New York City. Distracted by the Chrysler building down the block, I adjusted the tip of my right wing a little too far, overcompensated by flapping my wings like a maniac, and went crashing into a nearby building.
No worries, the Birdly operators assured me, we’ll just restart the program.
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For that minute, I was experiencing Birdly, a new virtual reality experience that simulates a bird flying through a city, distributed by Evanston-based D3D Cinema and created by Switzerland-based Somniacs, which was demonstrated at the Field Museum this week.
Unlike an Oculus or HTC Vive, the $190,000 virtual reality machine isn’t going to be heading to a living room near you anytime soon. But D3D Cinema believes high end VR systems like Birdly could be an increasingly enticing product for museums, institutions and even the growing number of VR arcades.
Birdly is far more immersive than your typical VR headset. You lie flat on your stomach, arms outstretched, with a VR headset and headphones strapped on your head. You can either soar, tipping your arms to change directions, or flap your “wings” to move faster through the city, all while a fan blows wind in your face. The experience is set in either New York City or San Francisco (with more cities to come), but do be aware the buildings, while virtual, are real—if you crash, like I did, it’s game over.
It was remarkably realistic and responsive—I felt an internal thrill soaring around skyscrapers and made a sharp dive into the city’s narrow streets. And while just the thought of swooping around city streets may make one’s stomach drop, I didn’t experience the same nausea I’ve felt from the same amount of time using an HTC Vive, Samsung Gear, or Oculus. Though I did feel a bit dizzy as I re-entered life on the ground back in the museum.
“It’s a physically involving, and exhausting, experience if you go too long,” said Don Kempf, president and founder at D3D Cinema.
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Source: Chicago Inno