Australian dad Jason Larke watched his wife Alison give birth to their third child via a Virtual Reality headset from 2,500 miles away.
Jason works three weeks on, one week off in a small mining town called Chinchilla in Queensland, so was away from his Perth home when Alison went into labour. Having anticipated that he might miss the birth when his work schedule was released, the couple answered an ad by technology giant Samsung asking for guinea pigs to try out the Gear VR unit and were chosen for the trial.
When Alison started with contractions, Jason was kitted out with the gadget and experienced what the company is calling a “World-first Live Streaming Virtual Reality Birth.”
The couple were in microphone contact throughout the birth and baby and mother are said to be doing well. Jason managed to provide reassurance, see a virtual representation of his new son, but there are no details on whether the VR kit allowed him to experience the traditional crushed hand.
Virtual Reality has come a long way since 1991:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP8wSw4bBuA
To read the Bewildered Dad birth story, click the link.
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