Samsung Streams World's First Live Virtual Reality Birth [Video]

Samsung has posted a video to YouTube documenting how it streamed the world's first live virtual reality birth using the Samsung Gear VR.

Perth couple, Alison and Jason 'Jace' Larke, welcomed their third child, son Steele Larke, to the world on February 20. However, Jace, a 'fly in, fly out' electrical contractor, faced a hard decision when an unavoidable work commitment required him to be in Queensland on the due date: take the job and miss the imminent birth of his third son, or refuse it and remain in Perth with his heavily pregnant wife Alison, but miss out on the contract work.

Although in Chinchilla, a remote Queensland mining town, using the Samsung Gear VR headset, Jace was able to experience the birth in real time, almost as though he was standing in the Perth delivery room – 4,000 kilometres away.


Sometimes barriers like distance keep people from being part of experiences that no one wants to miss. So we decided to help two people come together in a completely new way to let them share one of life’s most profound moments. Welcome to the world’s first live virtual reality birth using the Samsung Gear VR. #LifeLIVE

With the rapid pace of technological advancement, virtual reality is seen as a new frontier and numerous companies are working hard to be at the forefront. About a year ago, Facebook somewhat surprisingly acquired Oculus VR for $2 billion. Samsung, Sony, and others have unveiling competing devices and it's likely we'll see many more in the near future, perhaps even from Apple.

Take a look at the video below and let us know what you think in the comments!