World's first VR-enhanced roller coaster to open this spring

One of the early demos for the Oculus Rift was a roller coaster. I was lucky enough to test this out a long while back, and it was one of my first real VR experiences. It made me quickly understand how much your body relies on visual cues, as at times I really felt as though I was about to drop down a steep hill. Well now imagine that you're actually on a real coaster, with a VR unit strapped to your head. The thought is almost terrifying to me, but it will soon be a reality.

A theme park in the UK by the name of Alton Towers is set to have the first VR-enhanced roller coaster. The new ride, dubbed Galactica (no, not Battlestar Galactica) will have you strap into a 840-meter long roller coaster with a modified Samsung Gear VR headset. Once the ride starts, your seat will rotate 90-degrees, so that you're facing down for the whole ride.

While you're working your way through the coaster, your headset will have you traveling through a portal and out into the vast expanse of space. Since the Gear VR doesn't allow for positional tracking, the users are strapped in tightly enough that only their heads will be moving. The video playing will perfectly mimic the person's movements as they progress along the track.

This is probably one of the more exciting announcements regarding the use of VR. (Well, I'm still pretty excited about the Puppy Bowl, too.) Mainly because it will take something preexisting activity, and enhance it in a completely new way. Sure, I've been on a "ride" at King's Island where a video plays on a theater-sized screen, and my chair moves along with it. But those were half-hearted attempts to do exactly what the Galactica ride will be able to accomplish.

The ride will open sometime in April of this year, at Alton Towers. The Galactica ride is bound to be one of the top attractions, so you're actually able to start booking rides on it now, by going here.

VIA: DigitalTrends