A VR headset that can kill, its creator doesn’t even want to test it himself but why would one buy such a headset and who are the target users? Terrorists?
The owner of virtual reality (VR) company Oculus claims he has created a new headset that can kill the user in real life once it is “game over.”
Palmer Luckey said the device was inspired by Sword Art Online, a Japanese novel series-turned-anime wherein the players are stuck in an online role-playing game where death in the game means death in the real world because of the killer “NerveGear” headset they wear.
Luckey launched Oculus in 2012, before selling it to Facebook for $2 billion (€1.99 billion) in 2014.
During his stint with the company, he designed the Oculus Rift and other VR tech that now supports Meta’s big bet on the metaverse – an alternative world where you can work, play and meet people without leaving your home.
“The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me – you instantly raise the stakes to the maximum level and force people to fundamentally rethink how they interact with the virtual world and the players inside it,” Luckey wrote in his blog post that has gone viral.
The device is connected to three explosive charge modules above the screen that are aimed at the player’s forehead. Should the player die in the game, the microwave emitter would go off, obliterating the human’s head.
Luckey, who also founded Anduril, a weapons and defense contractor that has won large contracts with the government, said the explosive charges on the headset are ones he usually uses in various projects.
“When an appropriate game-over screen is displayed, the charges fire, instantly destroying the brain of the user,” Luckey wrote on his blog.
VR Headset for a realistic experience
According to Palmer, a more realistic experience is what he wants for the gamers, with a fear of consequence prowling at the back of their minds. But this is just half of the story. The VR creator wants to make it tamper-proof and impossible to remove just like NerveGear. But he says he isn’t brave enough yet to have this feature into reality.
“The perfect-VR half of the equation is still many years out…. The gear has certain imperfections that can kill the player at the wrong time,” Luckey said and he wants to work on it.
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