Virtual Reality, or VR, as it's commonly known,
is becoming widespread, in many regions of technology.
It can now be experienced on gaming systems and mobile phones,
granting access to the virtual world, for many.
2016, for example, saw an explosion of usage of VR on rollercoasters,
allowing visitors to experience virtual reality, while riding these attractions.
Not only does this change the entire dynamic of the ride,
but also allows visitors to feel real forces, while in another world.
The first public installation of Virtual Reality onto a rollercoaster,
appeared on the 17th September 2015.
The ride was Alpenexpress, a Mack Rides powered coaster, located at Europa Park.
To create the Virtual Reality hardware required for the attraction,
Mack Rides established a separate company: VR Coaster.
Since it's formation, the firm has installed Virtual Reality onto over 20 different roller coasters worldwide.
As a result, they are the leader in VR experiences and upgrades for roller coasters.
Virtual Reality attractions from VR Coaster, and other operators, utilise a Samsung Galaxy phone, within a Samsung Gear VR headset.
This allows for each headset to act wirelessly, removing the use of cables.
Because of this, guests can collect their headsets independently, before boarding the ride.
Several straps are fastened around the user's head to secure the device,
While a small wheel can be found on the top of the headset, to adjust the viewing focus.
Once the ride has started, visitors are free to experience 360 degrees of virtual environment.
Their movements are tracked real-time, resulting in a true sensation of immersion.
The majority of the world's VR coasters will offer a different virtual experience.
For example, some rides within the Six Flags chain feature content which depicts apocalyptic scenes where riders encounter various superheroes,
while guests on Alpenexpress, travel though an underground mine, with several of Europa Park's characters, in a wacky adventure.
Finally, Galactica, a B&M flying coaster located at Alton Towers,
allows riders to experience the wonders of space, using wormholes to travel between distant planets.
Naturally, the VR content shown can be modified, and even completely changed,
allowing for an endless amount of alternate experiences.
At most theme parks, it is free to ride specific roller coasters, with the addition of virtual reality.
However, a small number of parks require an additional payment to experience VR.
At Europa Park, for example, riders must pay €2 to ride with the virtual reality upgrade.
The virtual reality system consists of several parts:
The VR headset, position centre, and the VR Coaster blackbox, as named by VR Coaster.
In principle, the position centre accurately monitors the position of the ride within a 3D space,
while the blackbox syncs this infomation to one, or more, headsets.
As a result, it allows for the headsets to precisely show a virtual environment,
based on the movement and location of the train.
Without perfect synchronisation, users can begin to feel nauseous, as what they observe is different to the sensations they feel.
Similar systems are used by other companies exploring the Virtual Reality roller coaster territory.
Galactica, one of the world's first roller coasters to be fully dedicated to VR,
uses a system, created by Figment Productions.
This system includes a single control sensor, which houses the hardware required for the experience;
for example, the position sensor and synchronisation equipment.
The control sensor allows for ride operators to adjust several aspects of the experience,
including sound levels, subtitles, and even audio description.
The headsets themselves, are fixed to the seat of the car, and cannot be removed from the train.
A small pouch is located on the restraint, which houses the headset when it is not required.
With all VR systems, after riders have traversed the coaster, the headsets are removed, and sanitised.
Virtual Reality has become popular at theme parks, as it allows visitors to experience scenarios, that are beyond the scope of reality.
The act of installing VR onto a roller coaster entices guests to ride the attraction, often increasing its popularity.
As a result, it's been used on older attractions, throughout many theme parks.
It cannot be argued that Virtual Reality and roller coasters, are a great combination.
However, as of now, the experience is not perfect.
It seems that on some attractions, the system has poor reliability,
resulting in some headsets failing to work.
Due to this, and the slow act of riders putting their headsets on,
the throughput of roller coasters featuring Virtual Reality, is often reduced.
In turn, this causes increased wait times, often on attractions previously without queues.
The final scepticism of VR, is the quality.
More so, the lack of it.
As of now, the quality of the virtual reality content is not great.
Powerful hardware is required to render high-quality, 360 degree video.
Unfortunately, this hardware is not available in a portable format,
resulting in a reduction of video quality.
However, as technology progresses, the quality of Virtual Reality will only increase in the future.
With more rides set to gain Virtual Reality in 2017, will we the technology continue to thrive within a theme park market,
or slowly be phased out in the future?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.