Alton Towers has opened its ‘world first’ virtual reality rollercoaster ‘Galactica’. The theme park says it is the first fully-dedicated virtual reality.
Galactica uses motion sensors next to every seat to link the physical twists and turns to computer graphics played on headsets worn by the riders.
The video takes thrill seekers on a 189-second flight from a space station through an asteroid belt to the canyons of an alien world.
Simon Reveley from Figment Productions, which created the VR ride, said the link between the physical sensations and the virtual world makes for an immersive experience.
Galactica (formerly known as Air) is a flying virtual reality roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire, England. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, Galactica is the company’s first flying roller coaster. Guests ride in a prone position lying chest down and experience the feeling of flight by “flying” close to the ground, under footpaths, and narrowly past trees and rocks. The ride was marketed as “Secret Weapon 5 (SW5)”, a code name the park used in reference to the ride prior to announcing its official name.
The roller coaster originally opened as Air on 16 March 2002 as the world’s first flying roller coaster. Following the close of the 2015 season, the park began a refurbishment of the ride and reopened it as Galactica on 24 March 2016. It features the world’s first dedicated virtual reality on a roller coaster, an 840-metre-long (2,760 ft) track and reaches a top speed of 75 km/h (47 mph).