Britain’s Royal Air Force has recognised the authenticity of the unattended virtual reality game ParadropVR.
The Paradrop, built by Welsh company Frontgrid, is now installed at the RAF Museum Midlands, at Cosford, Shropshire, England.
Now visitors to the museum can enjoy the same experiences at The Falcons, the RAF’s military parachute display team.
The game, which sits a player in a parachute-type structure and, using a VR visor, can control his parachute as he drifts over a variety of terrains. It is part of the museum’s Flight Zone offering.
The unit uses motion-based hardware and an updraft of compressed air to create the effects of accelerating through the sky.
Matt Wells, CEO of Frontgrid, said: “I started my career as a para in the British Army, so that experience was very much part of the inspiration of inventing ParadropVR.
"So I’m particularly proud to see it feature in one of the greatest military museums in the world. ParadropVR has been created to replicate the sensation of flying under canopy, and its easy to use controls mean that it is accessible to almost everyone.”
Barry Smith, director of visitor and commercial development at the RAF Museum said: “We are really excited to have the installation of Paradrop VR as part of our offering, allowing visitors to feel what it would be like to parachute.
"We see attractions such as ParadropVR playing an important role in education and learning in the future, as it uses new technologies to deliver realistic RAF inspired experiences to our visitors. It will form part of our new Flight Zone, where visitors can also enjoy a range of virtual flying experiences.”
