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Duo Sneak an Oculus Rift Onto Roller Coaster For a Wild Ride

Posted by timothy on from the keep-hands-and-arms-inside-the-cart-at-all-times dept.

New submitter bobbrocolli (3647945) writes "Equipped with a hidden laptop and Oculus Rift, O'Driscoll may be the first person to have ever gone on a 'Real VR' roller coaster with perfect motion feedback. The duo's system displayed a virtual version of the exact same roller coaster that O'Driscoll and Forder were on. With some practice they managed to sync the virtual reality roller coaster to the real rollercoaster."

81 comments

  1. WHERE THE HELL... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    IS THE FUCKING ARTICLE? As of now this is no better than a horse's shit.

    1. Re:WHERE THE HELL... by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 1

      http://kotaku.com/they-took-an...

    2. Re:WHERE THE HELL... by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Informative

      The actual link:
      http://www.roadtovr.com/two-indie-devs-snuck-concealed-oculus-rift-laptop-onto-rollercoaster-ride-lifetime/

      No reason to give kotaku clicks for their brief summary of another article.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    3. Re:WHERE THE HELL... by XanC · · Score: 3, Funny

      You know what's bad if you have motion sickness?

      Watching a video of a guy on a roller coaster watching a video of being on a roller coaster.

    4. Re:WHERE THE HELL... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very meta. Reminds me of World of World of Warcraft

  2. Link? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where's the link?

    1. Re:Link? by sunwukong · · Score: 2

      Put on your damn goggles!

  3. Yo dawg, We heard you like rollercoasters by mekkab · · Score: 4, Funny

    so we put you in a VR rollercoaster while you were on a real rollercoaster so you can coast while you coast!

    --
    In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
    1. Re:Yo dawg, We heard you like rollercoasters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You had me at "Yo".

  4. No link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where is the link, genius?

  5. Where's the story part of this story? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    seriously. No links? Someone named O'Driscoll? This is starting to be as informative as CNN.

  6. Thanks for Providing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks for providing a link backing up and expanding on your claim. And thank Timothy for posting this half-bake article.

    1. Re:Thanks for Providing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Timothy's defense, he was high when he posted this.

  7. article link after some googling - you're welcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://kotaku.com/they-took-an-oculus-rift-on-a-real-roller-coaster-for-s-1574145196

  8. Why bother with a pesky link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    we'll take your word for it.

  9. PIRATING ROLLERCOASTERS IS A CRIME!!!! by uCallHimDrJ0NES · · Score: 3, Funny

    Won't somebody stop this madness before Disneyworld, Six Flags, and King's Island are left poor and homeless like those poor Hollywood executives?

    --
    Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
    1. Re:PIRATING ROLLERCOASTERS IS A CRIME!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know right, all you need is your own rollercoaster at home and then you can totally ride a virtual rollercoaster! Disneyland is clearly headed the way of the whip and buggy.

    2. Re:PIRATING ROLLERCOASTERS IS A CRIME!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Won't somebody stop this madness before Disneyworld, Six Flags, and King's Island are left poor and homeless like those poor Hollywood executives?

      When will this ambivalence to the glorification of the hacker end? It looks like the bad guys have figured out another way to pirate one more thing. This is theft of a copyrighted experience covered by DRM, pure and simple.

  10. Staged by madprof · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ah yes. I forgot how easy it was to sneak a laptop and a VR headset onto a rollercoaster. This is almost certainly planned by a PR agency. It probably happened but quite deliberately to get us to pay attention to their VR tech.

    1. Re:Staged by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You might want to talk to someone about your paranoia.

    2. Re:Staged by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      For the most part, the components were strapped around O’Driscoll’s chest with duct tape and hidden under a sweatshirt. The laptop would have been plenty to manage, but they needed a power supply for the Oculus Rift. That came in the form of an old surge protector that had a backup power supply. A mouse ran from the computer down O’Driscoll’s arm where it was taped so he could easily click the left mouse button to start the virtual ride without having to look at the laptop’s screen. The bottom of the mouse was taped over so that the mouse cursor, pre-positioned over the simulation’s start button, couldn’t move. The Oculus Rift was hidden inside of the hood of O’Driscoll’s sweatshirt for easy access once they got onto the coaster. -TFA

      Wouldn't a Samsung Galaxy S5 (with HDMI adapter) have sufficed instead of the laptop? Well, aside from the extra development time, the hardware should be good enough I would think.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    3. Re:Staged by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you this gullible?

  11. And the point is ... by stevez67 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    pointless.

    1. Re:And the point is ... by Chrontius · · Score: 1

      The point is a proof of concept for wilder rides still. Imagine "Dueling Dragons" with fully immersive VR, and maybe a few strategically placed propane burners near the track. I think you can begin imagine what that'd be like, and maybe even begin to comprehend just how much I'd like to ride it. (The ride is no longer operated as intended, and the incredibly complex process of tuning the synchronicity of the trains is wasted, since someone was killed by a flying flip-flop to the windpipe - this would preserve - and expand upon - the originally intended experience.)

    2. Re:And the point is ... by BitcoinBenny · · Score: 1

      And someone doesn't get it....

    3. Re:And the point is ... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I thought so too, until I read why they did it. They weren't just doing it for the lulz by riding a virtual coaster at the same time they were on it. The point was that you could use the coaster's tactile feedback with anything at all in VR. They used a virtual coaster because it was the simplest thing to test, but that is by no means where they want to see it end.

      Put differently, people could make tracks in VR that sync up to a roller coaster track, but then change out the scenario entirely. So instead of just riding a virtual coaster while on the coaster, you're suddenly piloting a jet in a dogfight, riding on the back of a dragon, swimming through blood vessels, or chasing a bounty target in space. It'd be the same tactile experience for all of them, but they would all seem wildly different.

      It seems like exactly the sort of thing that might have applications in a theme park. It may also be useful for training purposes or for some weirder applications, such as trying to acclimate people to the nausea that might come from keeping the video out of sync with the tactile sensations.

    4. Re:And the point is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      my thought exactly, i just see no point in this, maybe from a technical approach to test timing and/or synchro, but outside that... No reason this ever made it as an article

    5. Re:And the point is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      We already do this. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has a ride like that; you all pack into a canister with a screen on the front, and pneumatic arms lift and shake it. Most of the available...track?...choices aren't synced up all that well, and make you sick pretty quickly, but one or two are perfect.

      Pretty sure the Air Force has a huge robot arm with a chair and a screen on the end on the same principle, for running fighter jet simulations at high-Gs.

    6. Re:And the point is ... by fractoid · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Strap people into a real moving pod with a VR headset on, and the ride can be whatever the designers can imagine.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    7. Re:And the point is ... by Paul+Carver · · Score: 1

      The Sum of All Thrills ride at Epcot basically does this. It's not a roller coaster, it's a two person capsule on the end of a multi axis robotic arm. But the result is the same. All sorts of video and audio options synchronized to multidirectional movements and spins.

    8. Re:And the point is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are roller coasters so boring that you need a VR environment to make them interesting?

    9. Re:And the point is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It seems like exactly the sort of thing that might have applications in a theme park

      That's hilarious.

      "Billy, want to ride the roller coaster?"

      "No, mom, roller coasters are boring."

      "Oh wait, Billy. It says here that it only feels like a roller coaster, but you won't actually have to look at where you're travelling around."

      "OH BOY! Can I, Mom? Can I!? I want to play the Tetris model!"

  12. For our next trick.... by Laserfuzz · · Score: 2

    we're going to drive a car!

  13. We could pay I guess by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    "Our next project, VR while real sex, is behind schedule due to difficulties finding a 'roller coaster' that will let us ride it."

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    1. Re:We could pay I guess by Hamsterdan · · Score: 1

      Am I the only one thinking Brainstorm ?

      --
      I've got better things to do tonight than die.
    2. Re:We could pay I guess by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      You could feel every hair of the bearskin rug.

    3. Re:We could pay I guess by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      Now you can wear beer goggles without actually getting drunk! It's a brave new world, my friend...

    4. Re:We could pay I guess by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      wouldn't be that hard to find some actress for it. a thousand bucks should cover all production expenses, even buying the rift.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re:We could pay I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      would make the wife look great

    6. Re:We could pay I guess by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Total darkness already does that.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    7. Re:We could pay I guess by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      Am I the only one thinking Brainstorm ?

      Nope. But Oculus Rift won't give you indefinite orgasms.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    8. Re:We could pay I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Am I the only one thinking Brainstorm ?

      Nope. But Oculus Rift won't give you indefinite orgasms.

      Neither will Apple, but they will fuck you.

  14. Google Street View by jones_supa · · Score: 2

    Make an Oculus Rift display appropriate Google Street View imagery and go traveling on the streets on a unicycle.

    1. Re:Google Street View by Andrio · · Score: 1

      I have an Oculus Rift and there actually is a browser plug-in that lets you use Google street view with the oculus. You don't get 3D images, but everything is to scale and the headtracking works perfectly. It's very very cool. I went back to the house I grew up in, some cities, etc.

      An interesting sensation, though, was that you were seeing everything from the height of the Google car cameras. And it was pretty strange feeling so tall.

      --
      The Internet King? I wonder if he could provide faster nudity.
  15. Mr. Broccoli by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Picard asks Barclay if power should be affected during the tests; Barclay stammers his way toward saying he doesn't think so. Picard gives an encouraging smile, and tells "Mr. Broccoli" to carry on. The crew (except for Barclay, of course) looks very amused in Picard's direction;

    Picard is shocked and appalled at his mistake, and corrects himself quickly. It doesn't help Barclay's demeanor, and he takes his leave, looking mortified. Data chalks Picard's mistake up to metathesis, somewhat encouragingly; the others turn away, as Picard continued to look shocked and appalled, Riker quietly amused, and La Forge somewhat shaken.

    1. Re:Mr. Broccoli by PsyMan · · Score: 1

      rather drunk, the poster doesnt fare well with the previous ramblings and simply replies a load of horse shit

  16. What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Donning a Rift so you can enjoy virtual sex while your body does the real thing with your wife? FFS. People need to spend less time interacting with their gadgets.

    1. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah, if I was banging your wife, I'd want to make her look like someone else too.

    2. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cheaper to use paper bags and imagination... Plus when your done assuming you didn't puke the bag can be used for other things!

    3. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cheaper to use paper bags

      You still need to get a bag, either through buying one or asking for paper when you get your groceries.

      Look, just do what everyone else does - turn the lights off.

    4. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You still need to get a bag, either through buying one or asking for paper when you get your groceries.

      no there's a new app now, you can get a Virtual Paper Bag, for android, winphone, and iphone.

      and you can even get a Virtual Double Paper Bag, just in case one virtually breaks.

    5. Re:What's next? by daffmeister · · Score: 1

      Moderated not Funny, but Insightful. I love that.

  17. What will they think of next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Wow, it must have been just like riding a roller coaster.

    1. Re:What will they think of next by Jarik+C-Bol · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The point was, if you can sync up the movements if the meatspace ride with the movements of the virtual ride, you then have an infinitely configurable ride experience, where you can change the visual setting and theme at will. They propose that there could be roller coasters in theme parks that each seat is equipped with a Rift like device, and you could select the theme of your ride, be it say, flying a fighter jet, or racing through an abandoned mine, or dodging asteroids in space, to any other of a galaxy of possibilities.

      --
      I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
    2. Re:What will they think of next by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

      The idea was that once they had the track synched, they could change the virtual world they were moving through (airforce dogfight, space shooter, ride in a barrel down some rapids, etc). The visuals would be more entertaining, but the force feedback would fit perfectly.

      Actually, I can see this being a great ride at a coaster park -- keep one coaster, but everyone dons a headset so you can cycle through a bunch of "experiences" using the same track. Keeps people coming back for more.

      The only tricky bit would be ensuring that the ORs didn't fly off and cause damage. I bet they could be mounted to the restraint though.

    3. Re:What will they think of next by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

      Hey... you could even apply this to movie shorts, where the viewer moves through the scene and the force feedback lines up. Movie Theatres meet Roller Coasters... hmm :)

    4. Re:What will they think of next by Qzukk · · Score: 1

      I want to get off Mr. Bones Wild Ride!

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    5. Re:What will they think of next by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      Wow. Skinnable rollercoaster rides. That's so cool, it's like WinAmp!

    6. Re:What will they think of next by freeze128 · · Score: 0

      The point of virtual reality is to experience a roller coaster while you're sitting on your couch, not to experience a roller coaster while you're riding a roller coaster.

    7. Re:What will they think of next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would like to hack some one else's ride so it looks like they are riding a rocket propelled gerbil through a giant colon.

      Maybe in the future.

    8. Re:What will they think of next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Log in Richard Gere.

    9. Re:What will they think of next by fractoid · · Score: 1

      It really whips the llama's ass.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    10. Re:What will they think of next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it's to experience a roller coaster while you're standing in line to get on the roller coaster. Then once you're on the roller coaster, you can run the standing-in-line sim.

  18. You're right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The point is fun. Which can feel like pointlessness, but with more WEEEEEEEEEH!

  19. Stupidest thing ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tomorrow on Slashdot, Occulus Rift adds realism by having friends spray water on you at the parts wher you are near water for ULTIMATE REALISM!!!! OMG! OMG! OMG!

  20. Stupidity is infinite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The point of is was...what exactly? How does this make the experience better than what everyone else experiences when actually riding a freakin' roller coaster? Next thing we'll hear about was how they had VR sex while actually having, you know, real sex.

    1. Re:Stupidity is infinite by arosas · · Score: 1

      The point of is was...what exactly? How does this make the experience better than what everyone else experiences when actually riding a freakin' roller coaster? Next thing we'll hear about was how they had VR sex while actually having, you know, real sex.

      Don't be silly, anyone who would setup and sync VR sex with meatspace sex isn't going to be having sex anyways. Well... with other humans that is.

  21. Ya? by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    So what? How is this even remotely cool? Also, how do you hide a laptop?

  22. Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Such an interesting article... considering nobody considered posting it in the summary. How did this junk made it to the front page?

  23. If that's the best they can do, it's doomed. by stevez67 · · Score: 1

    The really need a more compelling reason for or use of the technology.

  24. Safety? by saynt · · Score: 1

    I'd be a bit nervous putting that much extra load on my neck and then getting on an inertia ride. Seems like there would be a very literal breaking point.

  25. Define Jargon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand."
    What the hell is oculus rift? Oh, I'm not a hip insider by the way. Nor do I live in mom's basement.

  26. dont want any tech related to faceplant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    dont want any tech related to faceplant
    dont want any tech related to faceplant
    dont want any tech related to faceplant

  27. staged...but why? by globaljustin · · Score: 2

    This is almost certainly planned by a PR agency. It probably happened but quite deliberately to get us to pay attention to their VR tech.

    makes sense...I get that companies stage these "user made video" things...and I do think the video is bullshit

    what I don't get is **why** whoever put this on would think that this is an attractive or interesting demonstration...

    it's like watching VR porn while you have sex in real life

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
    1. Re:staged...but why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine how hot all those virtual gits would be while trying to make out with natalie portman all naked and petrified

  28. Remarkably dangerous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With such a wanton disregard of their own safety and of others, these two dipshits must have been potheads.

    But hey, anything for a high, right? It doesn't matter who gets hurt, as long as you can fulfill your own right of self-injury.

    1. Re:Remarkably dangerous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't see this as more dangerous. He straped the notebook to his chest using ductape, used a blinded mouse to control the contraption.
      The oculus itself has straps.

      I am allowed to wear glasses on a ride, and a bag. Roller coasters are designed to have very little negative G forces.

  29. Definitely not the first, not by a long shot... by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    LaRonde (SixFlags) in Montreal did experiments with this nearly a year ago:

    https://developer.oculusvr.com...

  30. Why bother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Open your eyes. 100% HD real life experience with tactile feedback and annoying screamers.

  31. Re:article link after some googling - you're welco by kimvette · · Score: 1

    Zoom in and watch the Oculus video with your eyes crossed then you get the 3D experience. Warning: you might end up with a headache.

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
  32. Re:article link after some googling - you're welco by kimvette · · Score: 1

    It is weird though to use VR to simulate a 3D experience in the real, physical world which is by nature 3D. >_>

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50