How about putting on a VR headset that can kill you virtually… and in real life? It’s the sinister concept of a billionaire virtual reality expert.
No, it’s not a (bad) joke. An engineer and pioneer of VR is working on a helmet that could kill you with your virtual avatar.
Oculus founders on Killer VR headset
This sinister idea for a killer VR headset came from Palmer Luckey, inventor of the Oculus Rift and founder of the eponymous company, which has since been acquired by Facebook. Even though he resigned in 2017, he didn’t abandon his research into virtual reality. On his own page, the creator explains that he has developed a model that can literally kill the player in real life if their virtual alter ego dies in-game.
“If you die in the game, you die in real life”
Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus, through his official page
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As? With three explosive charges that would be linked to a photo sensor. When the device detects a flashing red screen, tantamount to game-over, the machines are triggered, causing the user’s instant death by destroying their brain. He adds that he even thought of a mechanism to avoid removing or destroying the VR headset.
Palmer Luckey admits his invention isn’t perfect for an equally sinister reason. “There are various deficiencies that can lead to death its owner at the wrong time” he explains. He also admits that there is only one “Desktop Graphics” which is not intended for sale. But what if it falls into the wrong hands or takes the plunge?
Sword Art Online for inspiration
A piece of news ? Yes and no. When it comes to creating such a death instrument, Palmer Luckey takes inspiration from Sword Art Online’s NerveGear. A series of novels by Reki Kawahara. In this work, VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Multi Massively Online Role Playing Game) players are locked into a game, all wearing a NerveGear. A VR headset that emits powerful microwaves that can incapacitate users’ brains if their life points are depleted or they try to escape by disconnecting or removing the NerveGear. Palmer Luckey was unable to reproduce this system, hence the choice of explosive charges.